Monday 22 August 2011

GRRRRRR v :o) :o) :o)

We've got some very angry people in our village tonight, it's all about the threat of wind turbines being planted close by. The battle has been raging for a couple of years now, and it won't go away. At each hearing the company who wants to build them, have been defeated by objections. Now they are back to continue the fight. Passions are running high and residents are bracing themselves for the next punch up. It could turn nasty.

I am keeping out of it because I prefer to remain neutral. I steer clear of any conflicts which may erupt into full blown war, because I do not allow the destructive feelings of anger to enter my life. In fact I can't remember the last time I was angry, about anything. When my car was smashed up last year by a taxi driver, I was a bit annoyed and had a bit of a rant at his boss on the phone, but there was no point in being angry after the event, the deed was done. Just move on and get it sorted.

A similar thing happened about 20 years ago, my car was damaged by a lorry driver who drove off and left it. The friends I was with were amazed that I took it so calmly. They said aren't you going to throw a wobbly and swear. I said, what's the point, it won't make things any better, it's happened and that's it.

There have been many times when I could have been angry about something that happened to me. The way I was treated by my work colleagues after I became a lorry driver was appalling, I was upset but never angry. The truth is I am no good at conflict, I don't believe the way to fight anger is with anger, that's the way wars start. My solution to the bullying I had to endure was to, first go home and cry, then, come back the next day even more determined to do my job. It takes a far stronger person to walk away from a nasty situation, than it does to wade in with all guns blazing.

A person who often gets angry and lets every little thing bother them, is a prime candidate for a heart attack, and both my parents died of a heart attack. The older I become the more laid back I am. The words which go through my head the most often are, 'It doesn't matter'. Whenever I feel something isn't fair, or not going right, or someone moans to me about something, I just say those words, 'It doesn't matter, it's not worth worrying about'.

No, there is no room for anger in my life, I just don't know how to be angry. I'll let you know what happens with the battle against the wind turbines.

16 comments:

  1. This may be a dumb question but why is there opposition to wind turbines? It seems to be a cleaner and cheaper energy solution but I haven't looked into it deeply.

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  2. From what I have read they aren't that efficient and don't produce the amount of power to justify the effect on the local environment. The noise is tremendous. Personally I think they are quite awesome but again, I don't know enough about it, only what I have heard people say.

    Im going to try to say your mantra Ilona, when I'm getting churned up inside about something. I don't often lose my temper but get a little fraught sometimes about injustices.

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  3. Hi Joyful, Here they are saying the turbines will be an eyesore, spoil the view, they are noisy, and they will be too close to the houses. Then it gets political because Sir Reginald Sheffield who owns the land will stand to make a lot of money from renting it to the turbine company, and he is the Prime Ministers father in law.

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  4. Hi Ilona, check out Alan Sloman's walking blog for more info about turbines, in particular the planned devastation of the beautiful Monadhliath mountains in Scotland, which is absolutely criminal, there are some things that have to be fought for...

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  5. You are so right about anger and heart disease.Adrenaline is released to enable fight or flight - these days we don't usually need to do either , so some chemical change takes place and it ends up as fatty deposits lining our arteries - at least that's what I remember my cardiac nurse telling me. I had a classic Type A personality, have a heart condition and was told by said nurse that I was a prime candidate for a heart attack . At 43 I decided I was too young for that. Now , I very rarely get angry -I came to realise that most things just aren't worth expending my energy on.

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  6. If a driver cuts me up, or gets angry at me for not going 100km in an 80km zone...they give me rude signs...I blow kisses!
    I'm not having a heart attack beacuse of someone else's actions.
    Jane x

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  7. I, for one, am glad and grateful that there are people who got angry and took a stand. How many injustices have been righted with righteous anger and action?

    Anger does not have to consume a person or the world. I don't think wars are started out of anger. I think they are started over ideologies and/or greed.

    Taking a stand and expressing an opinion does not have to involve blowing high blood pressure through the roof and the top of your head. Getting angry does not mean exploding in a chaotic, unorganized mess and hurting your own health.

    How can a person not be angry with injustice, racism, sexism, pedophiles, murder of innocents, graft, and a dozens of other evil things in this world? Even Christ was angry with the money changers.

    I read an article that said women who are complacent and never fight anything in their world are the ones who succumb to cancer sooner than the angry fighters.

    There is good stress and bad stress. Good stress can be resolved. Lingering anger, stress without action and lack of action is the kind that releases cortisol that kills.

    If no one in the world were angry enough to speak her mind and do something to help bring about change, this would be a much worse place to live.

    When some idiot almost causes me to wreck or is about to hit me, the adrenaline rush gives me a terrible headache. To alleviate this stressful and damaging reaction, I can do a few primal screams in the car or get out and fling my arms about or jump up and down...all in private, not in a fit of rage. We cannot control the adrenaline rush we are sent in order to save ourselves. But, we can control how it is directed.

    When I say primal screams, I am not talking about curses. When I say jump up and down a fling my arms, I am not talking about one holy fit and threatening someone or a display of anger. I am talking about giving the adrenaline somewhere to go. It works. I don't have an adrenaline headache (blood pressure rising) or feel horrendous for hours.

    Jane, if someone were that angry with me and felt like displaying rude signs, I would not further inflame them where they might get even. Road rage can be escalated by the person who is not showing a bad temper. At least in the US, the common advice is to ignore the person and try not to further annoy them. Psychos and perpetually angry people abound and some have guns.

    Just my two-cents worth that is not at all what anyone here agrees with. Oh well!

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  8. We, the taxpayers, are subsidising wind farms to the extent that the developers and others are making massive amounts of money. There is no doubt in my mind that it's nothing less than a colossal scam.

    There's no more benefit in anger than there is in large-scale wind power developments. And both, generally, are harmful. Future generations will wonder how we could have been duped into giving away £billions which could have been used to find alternative power sources. Something else HAS to be found.

    That's my opinion though - I would urge you Ilona and your readers to read the article below and form your own.

    It's enough to make me cry ........

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/8560346/Wind-farms-arent-just-a-blight-theyre-a-folly.html

    Brian

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  9. the problem is that they have made a too massive leap from windmills to wind turbines, instead of gradual development.
    Where they are smaller and designed for supplying power more locally they make sense in every way.

    These huge ones are more about politics and big business too. Also the attitude that there will be one solution, one source of generated power, not that it must be tailored to local needs and conditions.

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  10. I agree - with everyone! :-)

    Anger in itself is, or can be, a bad thing if left to fester, a negative force in the world.

    On the other hand, being driven to action by anger, such as in this case, is a good thing. As a Nation we have almost forgotten that our Govt is here to serve us, not the other way round. We live in a world where the views of the public are paid lip-service and then ignored.

    We shouldn't let this be so. The Forestry debate showed this to good effect.

    Power to the people!

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  11. Hi Illona
    This saying is on my pinboard as a reminder not to get angry.

    Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intention of throwing it as someone.
    YOU are the one who gets burned.

    Always helps me to see reason.
    Briony
    x

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  12. I think some people are born angry. Jane, if I get some angry person gesticulating to me while I am driving I look straight ahead and smile and ignore them. Their anger is their problem, not mine.

    Thank you PP for your comprehensive reply, very thought provoking. You said, 'How can a person not be angry with injustice, racism, sexism, paedopholes, murder of innocents, graft, and dozens of evil things in this world?'

    Thinking about this, it would seem that these atrocoties would make people very angry indeed, but I have to say although I feel very sad that these awful things happen in our world, I cannot get angry about it. Does this make me an uncaring and unfeeling person, I don't think so. I care very much that people should be able to live their lives free from any terrible situations. Me being angry would not stop rapes, murders, or any other evil happenings.

    I was once physically attacked by another female, someone I vaguely knew. Not a random attack, she didn't like me. I chose to contain my anger because with us both throwing punches it could have turned out a whole lot bloodier than it did. Instead I chose to protect my face and wait till she had calmed down. She did, and left. Yes, I was a bit upset, but I got over it.

    I went to the last windfarm meeting and emotions were running high, people were angry. One woman was shaking and in tears, it all seemed a bit dramatic to me. I think anger, stress, and drama, can bring on all sorts of medical conditions, so I choose not to get angry.

    I'm just off to read Brian's link. Thank you Brian.

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  13. Perhaps you should read Practical Parsinomys comments again.
    Without righteous anger and action this world would be in an even worse state than it already is.
    You might be able to bury your head in the sand in your own little bubble but that is the way of a small minded, selfish and uncaring person.

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  14. I think to the anonymous reply above you have missed the point that getting angry doesn`t solve anything, better to channel some of the energy into more positive actions, I also get angry and it doesn`t get you very far so will definetly try some of the advice given from everyone!

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  15. this reminds me of something I heard once about some Buddhist teacher saying his secret to happiness was "whatever happens is okay with me." Since we cannot change what HAS happened, I figure you and he pretty much have this one right!

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  16. Thank you for the explanation Ilona. I just came back from a 5000 km roadtrip to the north country. We saw about 27 + wind turbines on a hillside just outside of the town where I grew up. I thought it look rather beautiful and so did my brother. I guess we're all different. Now about the PM connection. That stinks!

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