"...there are basically four types of anger -rage, wrath, resentment and indignation. Rage is the short-fused, "flying off the handle" type of anger. Wrath is a reference to the anger that seeks calculated revenge. Resentment is the anger that "clams up and smolders". Indignation is the anger that is aimed at a problem -not at a person. That's a healthy anger..."
http://www.thepost.ca/ArticleDisplay.asp...After reading the above article I understood better... yet somehow I knew I was not finished with the thing that occasionally "eats my lunch" ...ANGER! IF for the rest of my life I didn't have to resort to this monster I would be a happy guy. I'm not talking about the kind of anger that in it's end result is protective or righteous, I'm talking about the kind that is self-protecting and is as a result of getting ones pride hurt.
Yesterday I blew it. Plain and simple. I know somehow I could have communicated the very things that were on my mind, without becoming emotionally charged... yet only a few minutes into what started out as a simple correction, ended in a battle. Does it matter who was right or wrong... HELL YES! ...at least that was my stance... but in the end I didn't feel any better. Sometimes I hate being human! Yet it is this realization that helps me to remember that the other guy is only human too.
Is there such a thing as expectable anger? To be honest it is an emotion that needs some barriers and restraints in place before it is employed... it is nothing you want to get loose on you... especially with friends. The coolest thing about my outburst was no matter how right I thought I was... I was wrong... there is a good reason that the fruit of God's Spirit listed in the Bible is self-control.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)
"Everyone experiences the emotion anger from time to time. It is a natural part of life. Anger has an acceptable place in our life. It can propel us to take action when we are faced with danger. What changes anger into something that is unacceptable? Anger becomes unacceptable when we express it in ways that causes injury to others or self, or when we destroy property when we are angry. How can we express how we feel without hurting anyone, or anything?"
http://www.angermanagementtechniques.org......so much for the good News, the bad News is... we are still in the process of learning! ONE can express their anger in much more hurtful ways than an outburst... one method of underhanded anger is GOSSIP. FOR those who are able to keep the demeanor of self-control on the surface... yet burn with indignation underneath... backbiting can be the weapon of choice. When a frontal attack seems juvenile... a timely slur can be so much more "intelligent" ...the result is the same. It is difficult to forgive, harder yet to forget.
There may be a time anger is acceptable... I guess I just haven't figured it out yet !:]