Suppose, while we are walking, our shoulder touches a wall, and we find ourselves wincing. Our over-reaction indicates that we have on our shoulder some sore spot that touched the wall.

The same principle applies to our emotional sore spots. Suppose someone makes a small mistake, and we find ourselves shouting furiously at them. Our over-reaction indicates that we have some inner sore spot that their mistake touched. Maybe in the past someone had hurt us terribly, and this present mistake activated our memory of that hurt, thereby triggering our pent-up indignation.

After over-reacting, when we cool down, we may recognize that our actions were disproportionate. And we may become dismayed and disheartened on seeing the extent of our conditionings. Instead, we can see our over-reactions more positively – as pointers to our inner sore spots.

To gain such self-understanding, we need the emotional stability coming from a strong spiritual foundation. The Bhagavad-gita (05.20) indicates that advanced spiritualists stay equipoised amidst life’s ups and downs. We can become spiritually fixed through practices such as scriptural study and meditation. Such practices train us to seek security in our spiritual identity as indestructible souls, as eternal parts of the all-loving supreme, Krishna.

Thereafter, when things touch our sore spots, we won’t react impulsively; instead, our spiritual training will inspire us to immediately take shelter of Krishna. In that sublime shelter, we will find the inner calm to evaluate our over-reaction objectively and maturely. By such introspection, we can learn more about the inner sore spot, the precautions to prevent its aggravation, and the measures to cure it.

By thus regulating the outer expression of our inner over-reaction, we will avoid making small things big or bad things worse. And, more importantly, the balm of remembrance of Krishna will gradually heal all our inner sore spots.

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