Saturday, May 30, 2015

Don’t let the sun go down on your anger


I am sitting here at my computer, confessing my sins. I got angry last night. Now I can get tussled about quite often, but generally I hold my peace; I can usually shake off what is bothering me and move on. Last night was not one of those times.

I have a 16 year old son, and he is a driver, but he does not have a car and we only have one car that we all share. Now usually on Saturday I take the car to work (I generally take my bike), so I can come home and have lunch with my wife (the crowd says “awe”). She will then take me back to work, and then she will do her shopping for the next week. That has been the routine since I have had this schedule.

Last night my son came home, and said he needed the car first thing in the morning. It is for a social event, and one which I support, but he came in and changed my plans.
I lost it. I did not start yelling, but my wife did say I was throwing a fit (didn’t someone say he was an adult earlier… humph).
I went to bed and I had a very restless night sleep, and I woke up this morning in a rather bad mood. I stomped around the kitchen, chanted as my mantra “I don’t want to go to work,” and grumbled about not being able to take the car (Adult: I say again humph).
I sat down at my computer, and started to settle down, and I realized I was acting as a child. I started making a list of apologies I needed to give, did a little work and my time to leave approached.
I went out to my mode of transportation, and my front tire was as flat as a pancake. Now I really felt bad, because my wife would have to take me to work and I would be disrupting her sleep.
So this is the lesson I have gleaned from that experience.
First, plans can change, and being rigid about your plans can make you break. So I must not be so set in what I am doing that I cannot make allowances for variation.
Second, resolve the problem – before going to sleep. Waking up the next morning feeling upset will only be overshadowed by feeling tired.
Lastly, be grateful for what you have, because you never know when you might have a “flat.”


10 comments:

  1. He reads before going out and repairing both the wifey and his own bicycles today. Life happens ...

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    1. Oh yes! I am so glad she loves me, and knows I am far from perfect. Now to my bike

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  2. Great post as usually, Thomas.

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  3. Yes, indeed, life is like that and I know what you mean - I've blown off in anger and then realised I'm just being annoyed because I was feeling put out when I ought to have been flexible and shown I can adapt. Ah well, we are human. Your family know that and you know they know so say sorry folks and move on. But as you also say, nothing worse than taking it to bed and chewing over frustration all night long.

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  4. There are moments in life when even a simple thing can annoy you or disturb your peace. I like how you summarized the lesson here - don't let the sun go down on your anger. That's absolutely true, especially when the person involved is a family member. Great approach, Thomas :)

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