When you find yourself embroiled in any kind of less-than-joyous emotion, such as anger, or frustration, or impatience, or worry, or negative thinking, take a moment and simply ask yourself, “What’s happening here?” Try to figure out what is taking you away from your center.
When you can say, “Ah, that’s anger” or “That’s worry,” then you know what you’re dealing with. You can figure out what you’re angry about or worried about, and then work on it. Often, simply identifying what’s happening will be enough to relieve your distress.
If you’re angry, get to your pillows as soon as possible (#66). Or get some fresh air. Or connect with the sun (#3). Remember to do some deep breathing (#96), which is good for almost anything that ails you.
It’s possible that you’re simply tired, hungry, or thirsty, and that your body and psyche are responding accordingly. If you don’t stop to notice what’s happening, it’s so easy to end up being tired and angry and frustrated all at the same time. Then you’re completely miserable and you don’t know why.
Try living your life in the belief that our natural state is pure joy. It’s when we’re truly happy that we’re in touch with our souls. The pain and the suffering we feel through any negative emotion or experience is simply a way to tell us how not to live. When we learn to identify what’s going on, we can make the changes we need to make to get back into our natural state.