On irritation

In line with my earlier obsession about the seven deadly sins, I thought it might be cool to entitle this: on anger, but I only occasionally erupt into wrath. Mostly, I get irritated and kvetch.

Some quotes from John Climacus (c. 579-649):

Meekness is a permanent condition of that soul which remains unaffected by whether or not it is spoken well of, whether or not it is honored or praised. The first step toward freedom from anger is to keep the lips silent when the heart is stirred; the next, to keep thoughts silent when the soul is upset; the last, to be totally calm when unclean winds are blowing.

Some people (I hold a slightly different view), believe that thoughts (or beliefs) precede emotions, which then precede actions. In my case, the thought and the feeling exist virtually simultaneously.  Whether this is true or no, John of the Ladder says that the wrong actions can be prevented by intentional actions: keeping silence, controlling thoughts & finally inner peace. Like many early Christians, he believes character traits like anger, sloth, lust, &c. are either literal demons or at least actuated by them. Some modern-day Christians believe the same. We now know, progress having been made, that thoughts are the result of biochemical processes in the brain. I'm not sure what the difference is; to the average person thought-forms and chemical states are a distinction not readily obtained. We still talk of seizures, heart attacks, being under the influence (of which star?), etc.

In my case, preventing a spark is easier than dealing with the necessity of a lengthy apology/reparation program. Stinking thinking goeth before a fall, especially when one is dealing with long-term relationships.

Irascibility is an untimely flaring up of the heart [...] Anger is an easily changed movement of one's disposition, a disfigurement of the soul. Just as darkness retreats before light, so all anger and bitterness disappears before the fragrance of humility.

Humility is a useful trait to have. There are several aspects to humility, but I probably won't express them well, so I crave your pardon in advance.

There is outward humility (not the same as humiliation). We are all familiar with people of humble origins, in humble circumstance, where life has dealt with them harshly and they have few resources. We see people in this circumstance in most inner cities. They are not necessarily humble people, but are poor (in one way or another) and this makes them, well, humble. They may be proud as peacocks on the inside, and prickly too, but they are of modest circumstances and have little political power. You never hear a politician talking about his homeless constituency, for
instance.

Inner humility also has several aspects. Humility toward others, inwardly, is the trait most people think of in this connection. These sort of humble people don't think too highly of themselves. They often give up privileged positions. This is the kind of humble people think they are supposed to aspire to.

Finally is humility toward yourself and those in your intimate circles. I'm going to confess that I am often more polite, more courteous, toward people I know less well than I am to people in my own household. I treat (and am treated, I suspect) my intimates better when in public, also. This is a good reason for getting out or perhaps, instead, I should pretend that I am in public all the time. Hurm.

Irritability/anger are inversely proportional to humility. I have striven to have more humility and perhaps it is bearing fruit. I've run out of time and attention. I'll speak more of this anon.