In his classic book, Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman shares the story of a belligerent samurai who challenged a zen master to explain the concept of heaven and hell.

The monk replied with scorn, “You’re nothing but a lout, why would I waste my time with the likes of you?”

Feeling insulted, the samurai flew into a rage and pulled out his sword from its scabbard, yelling, “I could kill you for your impertinence.”

“That,” replied the monk, “is hell.”

Startled at seeing the truth in what the master pointed out about the fury that had him in its grip, the samurai calmed down, sheathed his sword and bowed, thanking the monk for his insight.

“And that,” the monk said, “is heaven.”

There’s great truth to this story.

I’ve seen many people who live in the hell of being controlled by their emotions.

Conversely, there are those who live in the relative paradise of being able to control their emotional responses.

So let me ask you, do you live in heaven or hell?

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