anger

Where does the voice of discontent take us?

 

By Debbie Lynn

We all face irritations (the irrational, the ignorant) and with those irritations come the immense urge to unload our anger.

In today’s climate there are many views on what to do with this emotion. We are told to put in our pocket—or told to release it—but then told later where and how high we should shove it.

And while releasing a barrage of expletives can be somewhat satisfying, it also pulls us into the underbelly of a world that survives on the dramatic side; yet holding back can be detrimental to our health (physically and mentally). So what do we do?

It is ridiculous to think as a spiritual person we will never be angry again.

I wish it were possible but the reality is: it isn’t. The act of anger itself has many facets so that is the reason we might want to examine it and find out why we let certain things rile and violate our inner sanctum.

There isn’t a one-size fits all answer and quelling our temper takes a lot of discernment. It doesn’t happen over night. It takes practice, commitment and a bigger understanding of where we come from (our own personal ideologies, DNA and easing into the view of self control).

When we approach our feelings of anger with awareness, with mindfulness,
it becomes a productive part of our practice. We find, after all, that
anger has something to teach us.
—Jules Shuzen Harris Sensei

And this is not about blatant violence and atrocities, I am talking about the minor things we encounter everyday that we allow to interrupt a perfectly peaceful moment.

I truly do not know one person who has not had or been effected by their past. It just isn’t possible, but the souls I have encountered that are in constant turmoil have not been able to resolve the things that haunt them, and then the smallest situation can explode all over the place.

This comes to us at a time when horrific images of trauma are boiling.

But feeding the fears, jumping on the current conversations of doom and gloom only escalate and keep a nasty fire alive. There are rantings and raging of he said vs. she said, the black thing vs. the white thing, and everything that we are grasping at to make a point of unity is a curious thing. If you are over it (as I am) color your world differently and start a different dialog.

Where does the voice of discontent take us?

Sometimes it stops us dead in our tracks and opens a view that was buried then uncovered—for better or worse. And yet that revival (when energized) stirs movement that really needed to just stay still. You see, we can have powerful, productive disagreement in the calm, but never in the chaos.

So what are we going to take away from all the turmoil? How much courage can we hold?

If we really listen to an opinion that is different and in complete opposition it is amazing what can be learned.

I believe polarity is a beautiful thing. It is natural, it keeps us in check, keeps us humble, and if we allow it to; it gives us more insight on something or someone we never thought to be open to. So much love, so much to see and hear.

Remember: No one, no thing interferes or influences our reality unless we let them and anger always has something to teach us.

 

Photo: (source)

Editor: Dana Gornall

Comments

comments