“Hold on to your anger and use it as compost for your garden.” —Thich Nhat Hanh, Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

Some years ago I was feeling incredibly angry and resentful. I felt this way for a couple days. I have learned that when I judge others, it only contributes to anger and resentment. Despite knowing this, I kept judging a particular person. By doing this, I only added more drama to the story I was creating in my mind. I attached myself to ideas of unfairness, rudeness, disrespect, pride, and selfishness. This person was all of these in my story.

I found it strange that something would bother me so much that I would choose to go down this path of misery. “I should know better,” I thought. “I am a counselor.”

At some point in our lives we all encounter fear. Whether we are embarking on an adventure or our world appears to be falling apart - fear lurks and is there.

The common questions may arise, "Will we be able to have the courage to face the unknown? Will we overcome the circumstances and be okay? Will we make it to the other side?

So many times when fear or anxiety arise we want to run away and find something that can comfort us to forget about it. This ignorance only makes things worse. The fear is still there and growing. The problem is unresolved, we are stuck and the fear has a higher likelihood of coming true.

So what can we do when we experience fear?

“Gratitude is the heart’s memory.” —French Proverb

The practice of expressing gratitude and being thankful is a choice that unleashes positive energy into our lives. Many psychologists agree that gratitude is the healthiest human emotion.

Focusing on things that we are grateful for will put things in perspective and change our mood. It keeps us from thinking negative thoughts. It produces inspiration and motivation to focus on the positive and nurture the things that really matter to us.

"Cultivate a sense of empathy - to put yourself in other people's shoes - to see the world from their eyes. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world." - Barack Obama

Marshall Rosenberg,the founder and director of educational services for the Center for Nonviolent Communication, an international peacemaking organization, states that "empathy is a respectful understanding of what others are experiencing."

When I was a boy I received a King Kong action figure for my birthday. At that time I really liked King Kong and this gift was very special. While playing with my toy I soon found out that my little brother (around 3 years old) was afraid of my King Kong doll. So like a good big brother I ran around the house scaring him by showing him the doll and by roaring like King Kong.

My brother, of course, would run and tell my parents. My parents would take my doll away and then give it back with the condition that I not scare my brother. This process happened many times. On one occasion they even told me that if I did it again they would burn my King Kong doll in the fireplace.

“Nonviolence is not a garment to be put on and off at will, its seat is in the heart and it must be an inseparable part of our very being.” —Mahatma Gandhi 

The principles of nonviolence that Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. practiced, modeled, and lived out have impacted billions of people and led to many social change movements marked in history.

Nonviolence is rooted in the principle of ahimsa, which literally means to be without harm to oneself, others, and all living things.