He who angers you, controls you!

Boy, did I have anger issues back in the day -- they were primarily rooted in having very critical and condescending parents while growing up. I never hurt anyone, although I would have loved to on thousands of occasions. In fact, the only person I ever hurt with my anger was myself.....it ate away at me for years. I had kids when I was ages 21, 22, and 25, and talk about pushing my buttons....whew.

Around my mid-30s, I just stopped caring. Not giving a damn about what anyone was doing or what anyone thought about me cured my anger issues. When a driver pulls out in front of me now, it's because THEY have issues.....and I do not make another person's issues my own anymore. Never again.

When you're angered by another person, and they set you off, then you have allowed them to control you like a little hand-puppet. They probably get a high off of being able to get under your skin. You think about that the next time you feel a blast of heat in your belly rising to the surface......are you going to be their little play-thing, or are you going to be confident in yourself and go do your own thing and have a good time?

I suffered some devastating experiences during my 30s -- events that were outside of my control. I had to accept them in order to keep my sanity and move past them. That acceptance was only possible if I stopped caring. While my anger is gone, I am near dead inside. My life is drama-free now and I am happier at age 40 than I have been at any other time in my life, but it comes with a price. It's a fact that being messed up is part of the human condition.....but that's no excuse not to love ourselves and know that we are all equal in the sight of God. If I'm good enough for God, then I'm certainly good enough amongst my fellow messed up human cohabitants.