Seneca called anger a brief madness, because it borrows the mind and hands it back damaged. He didn't say never feel it. He said watch the gap between feeling it and acting on it, because that gap is where you still belong to yourself. Anger promises that lashing out will fix the hurt, but it almost never does. It usually just spreads the hurt around. You can be honest that something stung without letting it run the show. The flash of heat is human. What you do in the next breath is yours. Today, if something provokes you, try to find that one slow breath before you answer.

Inspired by the old idea of response-not-reaction. Written by Ugo Charles.