Thought for the Day

Eknath Easwaran's Commentary

Sometimes we are advised to let our frustrations express themselves when they build up. One of the biggest problems with this advice is that by venting negative feelings, we relive them – confirming our suspicions that an angry man or petulant woman is who we really are. This is a most devitalizing self-image. We may not even like such a person, but if we are not vigilant, we can reach a stage where we throw up our hands and say: “This is the real me; what can I do?”

To establish a more positive identity, we need a good deal of patience and a certain sagacious realism. On the one hand, it does no good to pretend that simply because we are made in the image of the Lord, our problems are not really there. We should be prepared to see our difficulties as clearly as possible, so that we do everything we can to work on them. But on the other hand, we should not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by them.