“We are living in an age of rage” proclaims a sign in front of a church by our house.

I imagine people driving by this sign and nodding in vehement agreement — especially if their primary inputs on the world come from social media, prime time TV and cable news.

But while those inputs (and their pundits) are pervasive and loud, they don’t give us a true picture of the way things actually are. Because for every dark headline, there are a thousand points of light.

So, what if instead of focusing on our “age of rage,” we all focused on how to “assuage the rage?”

There was a great example of this recently: During the post-game brawl between the University of Michigan and Ohio State football players (and fans), one Michigan and three Ohio State players knelt on the field to pray.

There’s four points of light. Five, if you count the man who videoed the scene and posted it on X.

It reminds me of the “butterfly effect” – the analogy that a butterfly flapping its wings in Australia could cause a tornado in Kansas.

That analogy means ONE action could make a difference. Like choosing prayer over fighting. Not watching the news, refraining from the urge to spank someone on social media, biting back a sharp retort.

While these individual actions may not appear to impact the state of the world, they will impact the state of us.

How can you help assuage the rage today?