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Looking Beyond Anger
Use Mindfulness to Stop Being Manipulated
“Anger is fear’s bodyguard.”
~ Celeste Ng
People are angry, sad, and afraid. Unfortunately, too many of our politicians gain and hold onto power by spreading hate and fear, not peace. They incite anger and capitalize on your fear, working hard to deepen divisions and make you afraid of anything that will get you to vote for them. The practice of mindfulness can offer a spiritual inoculation against the nationwide epidemic of anger and fear.
The last president and many other politicians use fear and anger to whip up the base and then exploit those very emotions. Our former president was a master of peddling hatred and fear of anyone else, including other races, religions, immigrants and asylum seekers, opposing politicians, and journalists who simply report the truth. The January 6th attack on the Capitol was a natural outcome of four years of constantly stoking anger.
A mindful approach is effective for counteracting the anger, outrage, and hate that seems to be boiling over in the country. Anger is a signal of other emotions hidden below the surface. Often, anger is protecting more vulnerable emotions, such as fear, sadness, or grief. In the realm of politics, anger is often expressed as outrage or frustration with current policies or…
