By Rafael Stoneman
The righteous anger demonstrated by Jesus when he threw the money changers out of the temple is not quite the kind of anger I am describing in this article. It is a stretch to imagine our own anger as righteous and can be a way of deceiving ourselves so as not to really examine the root cause of our anger.
I had begun to develop anger triggers around the age of 7, while living in downtown Philadelphia. It had to do with a feeling of confusion about how there could be so many people living on the streets, when there were so many wealthy people. I felt these people must have been placing more importance on their material possessions than on the welfare of other humans and animals or else they would not live in luxury while others ate out of trash cans. I didn’t come to formulate this idea until I was a teenager.
In general, anger has its positives and negatives. On the positive side, anger can be a call to action, a burst of energy that creates the motivation to transform a situation that is being neglected. For example, you suddenly are tired of looking at the full laundry hamper and you jump up and do the laundry, partially in disgust at the procrastination and partially frustrated at yourself for letting things go for so long, not to mention needing clean clothes.
This is a small scale example. The dynamic changes when we apply it to the macro. When we jump up and take action to solve problems in society, where there is a greater responsibility to harness and transform this frustration and disgust — we can’t just scoop up the world and toss it into the washing machine — we need a more refined application of anger
When anger is used improperly, it turns destructive and impacts situations, people, and our own well-being in a negative way. When I have been overcome by anger at the greed and selfishness of wealthy people, I have often missed the opportunity to transform that anger into an energy capable of being productive.
The focus on other people’s material greed and lack of compassion for their fellow humans creates a judgmental  tunnel vision and consequently, I have moved into an energy that is lacking compassion. Rather than focusing on what I can express and uplift, I turn to wanting to tear others down.
In this way, the greed and selfishness I see in other people is my own greed and selfishness. I am learning to recognize this and to utilize this insight as soon as the seed of anger begins to grow.
Catching it before it grows out of control is essential, but also transforming this anger, so that it can be expressed in a creative and useful way requires some practice.
This world may always have a large number of people who care more about their own material wealth than the hardships of others. But for those of us who are choosing to do the work on ourselves to embody more compassion, we have to be cautious not to fall into this ignorance by reacting in unskilled ways.
Our challenge is to keep free of the shadow of ignorance and carry on living in ways that don’t sabotage and destroy. Perhaps, this will set an example for others, and reveal that there is a way to reduce greed and selfishness. This way of working with our anger allows forgiveness and love to move into the forefront.
Love is always present, 24/7, like the Sun shining but we have to turn our faces toward the light in every moment to recognize this. I know, easier said than done.
Now, when I feel this old familiar anger towards rich people, I try to remind myself that this is an opportunity to turn towards love and forgiveness. I don’t always remember to remind myself–that is one of the reasons I am writing about this. But when I do remember, I am able delay action when anger is causing a distortion. This has prevented me from acting in a harmful way many times now.
At the beginning of this article, I mentioned Jesus. I feel pretty certain that he doesn’t struggle with an on-going judgement and anger towards rich people like I do. But God, the Father–now, that’s a different story. God seems to have a furious rage burning towards wealthy people who hoard and don’t use their wealth to help their fellow humans.
Take a deep breath, God, take a deep breath.
Rafael Stoneman has worked as a tree trimmer, an active duty soldier, a mental health recovery worker, a junk hauler, a care-giver, and currently is a homeless veterans outreach worker for the nonprofit Gold Coast Veterans Foundation. He has a B.S. in Psychology from University of La Verne and a certificate in Addiction Counseling from Oxnard College. He is the author of a column in the Acorn newspaper titled: Veterans Connection. Rafael has three sons, ages 16, 22, and 25.
Rafael has lived in Ojai for most of the last 23 years, with the exception of 1 year in Joshua Tree, 1 year in Seoul, South Korea on the Yongson Army base, 2 years on the Ft. Irwin Army base, and two years in Oxnard.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of Citizens Journal.
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