Begin now to observe yourself. Observe your reactions to
people, conditions, and circumstances. How do you respond
to the events and news of the day? It makes no difference if
all the other people were wrong and you alone were right. If.
the news disturbs you, it is your evil because your negative
emotions robbed you of peace and harmony.
A woman wrote me about her husband, saying that
goes into a rage when he reads what certain newspaper
columnists write in the newspaper. She added that this constant
reaction of anger and suppressed rage on his part brought on
bleeding ulcers, and his physician recommended an emotional
reconditioning.
I invited this man to see me and I explained to him the
way his mind functions indicating how emotionally immature
it was to get angry when others write articles with which he
disapproves or disagrees. He began to realize that he should
give the newspaperman freedom to express himself even
though the latter disagreed with him politically, religiously,
or in any other way. In the same manner, the newspaperman
would give him freedom to write a letter to the newspaper
disagreeing with his published statements. He learned that he
could disagree without being disagreeable. He awakened to
the simple truth that it is never what a person says or does
that affects him, it is his reaction to what is said or done that
matters.
This explanation was the cure for this man, and he realized
that with a little practice he could master his morning tantrums.
His wife told me, subsequently, that he laughed at himself and also at what the columnists say. They no longer have power to
disturb, annoy, and irritate him. His ulcers have disappeared
due to his emotional poise and serenity.