March 29 Tip: Throwing Hot Coals Will Burn You

From Pema Chodron: Throwing Hot Coals Will Burn YOU
(the March 29 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

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THROWING HOT COALS WILL BURN YOU

We act out because, ironically, we think it will bring us some relief. We equate it with happiness. Often there is some relief, for the moment. When you have an addiction and you fulfill that addiction, there is a moment in which you feel some relief. Then the nightmare gets worse. So it is with aggression. When you get to tell someone off, you might feel pretty good for a while, but somehow the sense of righteous indignation and hatred grows, and it hurts you. It’s as if you pick up hot coals with your bare hands and throw them at your enemy. If the coals happen to hit him, he will be hurt. But in the meantime, you are guaranteed to be burned.