Fear is a major part is human psyche. We are taught not to admit and acknowledge our negative emotions specially our fear. Admitting fear is considered a sign of weakness especially for men. In some spiritual circles it is addressed with slogans to brush it off as if it does not exist or is imaginary.
I was in a discussion group and a person was telling us how he tries to be calm and ignore his anger when someone cuts him off on a highway. I asked him if ignoring one’s feeling is healthy. I also questioned if his anger is his true emotion (perhaps is fear)?
We may be angry that people ‘should’ be more respectful, when driving. I believe that it may be a mask to hide our true feeling which may be fear. What if we are afraid to get hurt when someone cuts us off and it is not to be OK to be afraid so we express it under cover of anger! What would be like if we acknowledge our fear rather than ignoring it or masking it?
Next time, when anger arises, consider exploring your reactions and investigate if some other emotion like fear is underneath.
Copyright . 2015 by Shervin Hojat
Ron