Take a deep breath

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”

― Ambrose Bierce

“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”

― Mark Twain

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ok

I admit it

I am angry

I am angry about a lot of things

So are a lot of you

And sometimes we are angry about different things

Sometimes when I am rejoicing you are angry

And sometimes when you are rejoicing I am angry

This anger burns hot

It eats me up from the inside

(can anyone relate?)

It makes me think things, and say things

That fuel my anger

And that fuels the anger of others

Both those who agree with me, and those who don’t

It is not that there is no place for anger

There is

I will always be angry when I see the vulnerable oppressed and repressed

I just will

I am angry at brutality, and violence

Racisms

Economic inequity

When I am angry I hate

And I hate hate (ooops)

So here we sit

Struggling, all of us

Where do we go from here?

What do we do with our anger?

Righteous and otherwise?

I know there are times it makes me less clear

Less controlled

Less rational

Less kind

Less love

I know there are times I cannot and should not let it go!

Even Jesus got angry

So it comes down to what I do with it!

I went to a workshop the other day

Where we were given this little saying as a way to remind of us

A mindfulness approach to life.

Here I am now

Feeling what I am feeling

Thinking what I am thinking

WHILE doing what I care about.

What do I care about?

People

Justice

Hope

Love

Compassion

Kindness

Generosity

I will have my anger

I will sit with it

Sometimes, God (and those I anger and hurt) forgive me

I will notice my anger, and be instructed by it

But I will try as best I can, not to be controlled by it

Or pushed by it into actions and words

That hurt and destroy ( although I will sometimes fail, and need

A lot of forgiveness along the way

And I will try not to let it destroy me, from the inside out

And then I will get up and do something

That helps me do what I care about

Helping people

Loving people

Healing people

Protecting people

All people

Even those I disagree with

These are tough times folks

As I keep saying (perhaps to myself more than to anyone else)

We are in this together