ANGER AND THE SPEED OF LIFE
Genesis 32:7-8 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the
people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels
as well. He thought, "If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that
is left may escape."
The
young woman recounted that as she left a parking lot the other day, she pulled
into the lane toward the exit and didn’t see another car coming. The driver had
to swerve to miss her. The woman threw up her hands in apology and mouthed “I’m
sorry” but the driver pulled in front of her, blocked her, got out, ran toward
her gesturing and yelling obscenities and began pounding her hood with his fist. She was ready to dial 911 when his passenger coaxed him back inside.
In his book, The Enigma of Anger, Garret Keizer
writes: “You will notice how often your day-to-day anger arises when you’re in
a rush. Hurrying lowers the threshold of your frustration, even as anger urges
you to hurry more. On some visceral level, it makes sense that the engines we
employ to give us more speed so often sound angry.” (pg.105)
Toad Hall, By Margie Haack. Summer-Fall 2011.