Once, Mother Teresa was asked by someone, “Do you ever get angry at all the examples of social injustice you see around you in India and in other parts of the world where you work?” Mother Teresa beautifully answered, “Why should I spend energy in anger when I can expend it in love?”
This response by Mother Teresa illustrates a vision with which we can also lead our lives. Every day, we find many situations that can provoke anger. Sometimes we become angry when someone hurts or offends us.
There are instances where we become angry when we see others being hurt. We may find cases of social injustice in which a group of people are being treated unfairly. In each of these cases, we may feel that a wrong has been committed. We may not be able to ignore what is happening. The difference is in how we respond to injustice. We have the choices. We can either react out of anger, or we can overcome and replace the anger with love. Mother Teresa chose to overcome anger with love.
There is plenty of anger and violence in the world. In every town and village, in every home, one finds explosions of anger. To respond to this anger with more anger only fuels the flames. We do not put out a fire by fanning the flames. We have to smother the fire. Similarly, we do not put out fires of anger by adding more fuel to them. We can smother the fire of anger with love.
Rather than adding one more angry voice in a dispute, we should apply the balm of sweetness to cool down the tempers of others. Rather than adding on to the vibrations of the atmosphere with an angry thought, we should send loving thoughts to cleanse the atmosphere.
It takes a lot of energy to respond angrily. The response tends to deplete us and drain us. But if we use our energy to respond lovingly, we will not only bring harmony to the situation, we will be energised by that love. When we act lovingly, we are opening the door for God’s love to flow through us. We are energised and boosted by godly love.
The next time we find ourselves in a situation in which an injustice is happening, we can practice responding with love instead of anger. We can note the effect that our positive response has both on the situation and on our own well-being.
There is enough anger in the world. Let us try to bring harmony and peace to the world. Let us overcome violence with love. We will find the benefit of doing so in the ripple effect that follows and it will not be long before our environment, our community, and our society will become a haven of peace in this world.