The destructive emotion called anger

Anger….One of the most destructive emotions. It’s like a raging fire. The effect is usually long lasting though the emotion may be fleeting.

I witnessed a scene while driving home a few days ago. The traffic was horrendous so I had time to look around. There was this man driving on the slow lane that moved a little too close to a pedestrian walking carelessly on the road. Harsh words were exchanged between the two. Each person thinking he was within his right; the pedestrian who was oblivious to the car coming and the driver who felt he was driving on his own path. A simple…’oh I’m sorry, I didn’t see you’….could probably have done the trick.

By the time the traffic was easing up, the guy in the car had parked blocking the pedestrian and they were about to start exchanging blows. There are people that have undiagnosed ailments…you hit them once….and they’re gone. This is Nigeria….even if you’re released after an autopsy is done…you would have spent some time cooling off in prison first.

The incident made me remember the last time I was in America. My friend Funle Otolorin took me out to Cheesecake factory. I was trying to look at the displayed cakes so I could settle for one. I passed beside two guys and a girl talking (all blacks like me) and the next thing I heard was..’You crazy? What the fuck you creeping around like a thief for? Something wrong with you?’ I was gobsmacked. I didn’t even hit or touch anyone. I mumbled a sorry…and moved forward. This guy didn’t stop raining profane words on me. I was about to reply him when I remembered that people are allowed to carry guns in America. I quickly said a more audible sorry.

Mo yá dáké. (Gbogbo family wa nílé, people that will cry for me are plenty..). Laslas…the guy will get 10 years and be out in 5. Èmí á ti lo ìrìnàjò àrèmabò (I would have gone on a journey of no return) I told Funke in Yoruba…’Wàláhì bòbó yii jola pé a wà nílú Èebó…A ma ti bùrawa dada (This guy is enjoying the fact that we’re abroad…we would have matched each other in every way). Lol. I kept my anger in check because I knew that things could go awry. If only we could learn to do that more often. Of course….you’ll have some situations where its almost impossible to let it slide. But having a short fuse never really helped anyone.

If we remember this in our daily life that anger leaves a lot of destruction in its wake.. we would try a bit more to control it. Blessed is the man that can control his anger…
Sensible is the man who can quell the fire of his fury when there’s a possibility of getting a thorough beating or worse still a gunshot.

Even more fortunate is the one that can control his tongue when the anger is raging…for there’s a high probability of saying all the wrong things at this time.
P.S…Myself inclusive.