
Every spiritual affliction and negative character trait,
even the traits of anger and resentment contain hidden within them a very
precious and beautiful treasure. That treasure is your G-d given Light of goodness,
beauty and your endless treasury of positive traits.
This is how you can break anger or any bad character trait
and awaken your infinite treasury of positive traits such as love, mercy, and compassion
for others.
Practice the following Emuna
Coaching exercise and you'll be ready the next time someone provokes you and you have that urge to retaliate with cruelty:
1. Close your eyes
and take a few very deep breaths and exhale slowly.
2. Strongly affirm in your heart that there is
no power in the world besides for G-d.
3. With your eyes closed,
picture an old beat up treasure chest (like the one above; the old chest is the anger that conceals the Light).
4. With absolute
sincerity, implore G-d to reveal the great inner Light of goodness that's
within you.
5. As your anger subsides, you'll have a new awareness of
your purpose in this world.
6. Ask G-d to remind you to practice this exercise repeatedly.
7. Thank G-d for reminding you of why you're alive: to be as
loving, tolerant and compassionate as possible to everybody, everywhere,
always!
Make today the best day ever!
With blessings,
Dr. Zev Ballen
Adapted from: A Guide to Avodas Hashem: A Scent of Eden: Collected Discourses of Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter, pp. 64-65.