31 Oct Why do you get angry? Well, because somebody kicked you. But who kicked you? (DON MIGUEL RUIZ)
There are no good emotions or bad emotions;
there is nothingwrongwith anger or jealousy or envy. Even if you are feeling hate, it comes fromyour integrity. Even if it’s sadness or depression that you are suffering, if you feel it, thereisalwaysareason for feeling it.
I discovered something very interesting about the human mind, something logicaland important to understand. Everything you perceive causes an emotional reaction— everything . If you perceive beauty, youremotionalreaction is wonderful; you feel great. When you are hurt, your emotional
reaction is not so great. But you perceive not just the outside world; you perceivethe virtualworld you createin your head.You perceive not only your feelings, but your knowledge — your own thoughts, judgments, and beliefs. You perceive the voice in your head, and you have an emotional reaction to that voice.
Now the question is this: What is the voice in your head telling you? Howmany times has it told you, “God, I’mso stupid, how could I do that? I will never learn!” The voice of knowledge judges you, you perceive the judgment, and you have an emotional reaction. You feel the shame; you feel the guilt. Theemotion is true, but whatcauses theemotion, which is thejudgment that you are stupid, is not true; it’sastory.Again, this is just action–reaction. What is theaction? Theaction is the perception of your point of view, whichmeans the perception of your own judgment. What is there action? Your feelings are there action,and you react to thelies with emotional poison.
Let’s see ifwe can understand this a little better. Imagine that you have a dog. As you know, the dog is justa dog, and it’s a perfect dog, isn’t it?
But what happens if you abusethe dog? What ifevery time you seethe dog, you kick the dog? Very soon the dog will be afraid.You can see the emotions coming fromthe dog. It is angry; it might try to bite you or run away. Is there something wrong with the dog’semotions? Does the dog’s anger make the dog evil? No, the dog’s reaction is just the result of being abused. The emotion is helping the dog to defend itself. It comes from the dog’s integrity.
Now imagine a dog living in the most beautiful environment with people who always love and respect the dog. That dog is the sweetest animal in the whole world, the most wonderful dog. Because that dog is not abused, he follows his nature; he loves everybody who loves him. Well, your physical body is just like that dog. It reacts emotionally in the same way. Why do you react with anger? Well, because somebody kicked you, right? But who kicked you? The voice in your head.
The voice of knowledge
DON MIGUEL RUIZ
