At a 12 step meeting last Monday on the Mexican Riviera the topic, to my surprise, was anger. One would think that in paradise there would be little stress, that anger would be reserved for us hard working Americans.
But as the meeting progressed I learned that traffic, job stress, drunken relatives and bills impact people there just like it does us here at home. But those of us there on vacation were so happy being in such a beautiful place that nothing was going to ruin our day..
One visitor, sober many years, shared that he was “too lazy to get angry.” He explained that after having to make amends after many outbursts in early recovery he decided it was less work to avoid anger than to indulge in it. Instead of getting his blood pressure up and wasting time rationalizing that he was right and the other guy was wrong - he today lives in peace. He decided it didn't make a lot of sense to be right if it impacts his serenity. In the end no one much cares who's right or wrong and he doesn’t have to spend a lot of his time cleaning up after an angry outburst.
One visitor, sober many years, shared that he was “too lazy to get angry.” He explained that after having to make amends after many outbursts in early recovery he decided it was less work to avoid anger than to indulge in it. Instead of getting his blood pressure up and wasting time rationalizing that he was right and the other guy was wrong - he today lives in peace. He decided it didn't make a lot of sense to be right if it impacts his serenity. In the end no one much cares who's right or wrong and he doesn’t have to spend a lot of his time cleaning up after an angry outburst.
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