With the Olympics now on our screens, the political problems in China are also on our minds. Whilst the benign drama, colour and pageantry of the games hold our eye, there is for many of us a disquiet that detracts from the pleasure of this global spectacle.

The abuse of human rights generally, and in particular the repressive annexation of Tibet are causes many of us identify with passionately. Naturally as we identify with the pain experienced by our brothers and sisters all across the world, we relate to their distress as though it were our own.

Injustice is the centre of the emotional experience we call anger. Anger is an energy that blazes like a furnace inside the human psyche. On the upside of anger, where it’s present you can see what needs to change and you have the energy to action that necessity.

The down side is that if no action unfolds, the fiery energy inside has nothing too burn but the body and mind that holds it. The tension of anger held inside is an anthema to physical and mental health. If you don’t act purposefully on the anger you experience, it acts on you!

But what are we as individuals or even as a community to do about so large and inaccessible a problem? Furthermore, the cruel behaviours we hear about being perpetrated in China are occurring all over the planet in the name of many political authorities. Certainly there are no cultures, including our own, that are strangers to political abuse.

I believe that there is a way through and that the pathway is powerfully paved with love, forbearance, and gentle action. Write respectfully of your concerns to the Chinese consulate! Send a vision of harmony to both victims and perpetrators in your meditations or prayers. Contribute to the needs of Tibetan refugees through the Manly Community Centre.

Never turn away from the problems you see to avoid the pain of caring, nor deride the small actions you can perform as being too small too be meaningful. The divine ocean of change is filled with many tiny drops.

Martin Hunter Jones is an honorary life member of the Australian Counselling Association. He has a Counselling and Hypnotherapy practice on the Northern Beaches. For appointments call 9973 4997.