Resent: A complex, multilayered emotion that is a mixture of disappointment, anger, and disgust; to show displeasure and hurt or indignation at (some act, remark, etc.) or toward (a person) at a sense of being injured or offended; to feel bitter or angry at something, especially because you feel it is unfair.
Unfair! Unfair! You're cheating! I deserved that and you didn't deserve that! Mom, he's cheating!
Resentment is common to all alcoholics. We are never safe from it and as intangible as it may seem, it does pay off in material ways with destructive force and energy. Resentment is dynamite to the alcoholic. Resentment is pure mental drunkenness.
Dynamite! Destruction! Good words! Boom, boom, ka-boom!
It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have not only been mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick.
I like the word "destroy." Whew. I like the suggestion that resentment is the root cause of all forms of spiritual disease. Not some. Not a few. All. All is a lot.
We list people, institutions and principles with whom we were angry. We ask ourselves why we were angry.
It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worthwhile.
Anger and futility and unhappiness, oh, my! Who in their right mind would want to give up those things? Squanderer! You squanderer! Squander away!
Squander: Waste in a reckless and foolish manner.
Has your life been any happier because of this resentment?
Taking poison and waiting for the other person to die. I'm guessing that maybe 10% of the people, places, and things that I've ever had a resentment against had any idea that they were on the receiving end of my resentment. Like the government cares if I resent paying my taxes. Yeah, that's going to change things.
He cannot afford to subject himself to self-pity because of its relationship to resentment and inferiority.
Few, if any, men or women escape this emotional monstrosity (jealousy).
I find it helpful to tease out the emotion of anger (a normal human attribute that none of us will ever completely get rid of) from the emotional time bomb of resentment (a normal human reaction if you're a self-centered, socially stunted, and emotionally immature alcoholic). Everybody gets angry from time to time but what are you gonna do with it? Explode? Yell and scream and belittle? Toss a punch? Ruin a relationship, a job, a just about everything?
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