I live in the Greater Cincinnati area, and the news yesterday was all about Chris Henry, the Bengals wide receiver who died from a head injury sustained during a domestic dispute. Like so many others, I found this story terribly sad. Of course, I don't know the details, but I suspect that these two young people, Chris and his fiance, were both very angry. He apparently leapt up on the truck she was driving away from him, and one witness said he threatened to let himself fall out. At some point, he did in fact "come out of the truck." Now he's dead. His fiance, who's almost certainly not angry anymore, must be devastated by the loss and her role in it. And their three children are left without a dad. And why? Because two adults let their anger control them, let their anger at each other take over, let their anger make them act like tantrum-throwing two-year-olds. We've all been that angry. It's destructive to us and to everyone we touch with it. Somehow, we have to get hold of ourselves - the domestic disputes, the road rage, the shopping frenzy, the maintenance man who raped and tortured a tenant for hours to settle a score. The stakes are too high to continue to indulge our emotions in these ways. But thinking about doing something on the grand scale is overwhelming, at least to me. So today, I pledge to pay attention to my own anger/irritation. If it comes up, I'll welcome and witness it, then ask it what it's trying to tell me. And then I'll take action from a place of strength not terror or fury. Today, at least.
Rest in peace, Chris Henry
Blessing to him and all his family
Friday, December 18, 2009
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