Article March 30, 1998 Issue

A reaction to anger like no other

Here's a sure-fire way not only to defuse but to heal discord.

By Christine Carroll Kaehn

You've probably had an experience something like one of these: You're driving down a busy street when someone suddenly pulls out in front of you, causing you to hit the brakes. Or someone with a hot temper comes to work and out of nowhere blames you for his or her problems. Or maybe your kids or your spouse has just done something or neglected to do something that is threatening to set you off into a fit of anger.

How do you react? Your answer to this question determines your success in handling any situation. We always have a choice between being upset, angry, or bringing harmony and healing. We don't have to react with a display of temper, hurt feelings, or anger, because we can "go higher"—we can immediately turn our thoughts to the Christly way of living that Jesus taught. And when we do this, we become healers instead of "reactors." Science and Health explains Christ in this way: "The divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error" (p. 583).

Jesus, the master Christian, was an expert healer because he drew his strength from his oneness with God and taught his followers to do the same. We all can learn more about our oneness with God, our Christlike identity. Since we are in fact already spiritual, we don't actually have to develop our spiritual selfhood, but we do need to awaken to what has always been true about us as God's children and put it into practice. Every day is an opportunity for us to discover and express the goodness and love that define who we really are. As we do this, we see increasing evidence of strength, poise, balance, and order in our experience.

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