Reflectorial: On Anger
What makes you angry? If were to ask Lucy she would probably say nothing… when
in reality it’s everything. Linus and his stupid blanket, playing baseball and most of
all Snoopy and his slobbery dog kisses.
I guess the better question is not what makes you angry, because let’s be real: at this
time of year you’re probably an under slept walking talking ball of anxiety. No, the
better question is what do you do with that anger?
Do you bottle it up until you explode and then justify it because you are jus so
stressed out from everything going on? Do you take it out on one person and then
have to apologize repeatedly? Do you shut the world out, even your closest friends,
because you just want to be completely alone?
Look. We aren’t judging. We’ve all been there. All we are suggesting is that maybe
anger doesn’t have to be that way. Maybe anger could actually be healthy and help
us out.
Anger gets a lot of things done in this world. We’re not talking about throwing a
tantrum on the floor until you get what you want, rather the right kind of anger for
the right situation.
That kind of anger causes you to take action. Is there something that is on your heart
and that burns you up inside?
First, evaluate why it makes you mad. Observe the consequences of it. Consult with
other people. Research its motives and its origin. Think about whether or not it
should be happening. Then figure out the actions that should be taken.
Changes in this world today for the better have been made in this way. But don’t
think for a minute that those paradigm shifts didn’t have any anger involved. Anger
is natural — we like to think that anger is misunderstood and taboo, often
associated with the “spazzes” and those who “can’t keep their cool”.
Sometimes you can’t keep your cool. But more importantly, sometimes you really
shouldn’t.
We don’t think that Rosa Parks had no anger when she refused to move to the back
of the bus. We don’t think that Gandhi ignored his anger when he was fasting for
India’s freedom movement. And even though he preached forgiveness in his “I have
a dream” speech, Martin Luther King no doubt acknowledged the hatred and anger
in his heart and in the hearts of others, harnessing it in a more positive way.
In all of these cases, anger is involved. It makes us passionate.
Angry? Do something about it. Write a blog, write a letter, call your friends, start a
fundraiser, scream from the rooftops. Don’t bottle it up, ignore it or condemn it.
Accept the way you’re feeling and fight for what is right and what matters to you.
Lucy must have written hundreds of disgruntled letters to several organizations and
she is like eight. You can do it too.
