Force of the Wind

In order to offer loving kindness to others, we must accept the fact that our emotions are our own. No one is forcing our hand. No one is making us hate. No one is making us spiteful. No one is making us angry. We choose these things. And in this way, our feelings and emotions are like the wind. They come and they go on their own. Although an experience may stimulate a response in us, by attaching ourselves to thoughts we choose to cling to them and allow them to continue affecting our lives. And this is where the choice of loving kindness can enter our hearts. Instead of saying “you made me angry,” we can say “I feel anger, but I choose love.” In this choice, there is no blame; we accept our emotion as having risen on its own; and we select a positive, constructive emotion in place of the destructive one.