Don’t Be Afraid of Anger

Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, I'm going to talk about anger. So anger is a perfectly natural part of being human. It's designed to alert us to threats and potential injuries and mobilize us to do something to protect and stand up for ourselves. But out of all of the emotions that we feel as we go about daily life, anger is surely one of the trickiest ones to deal with.

I know it definitely is for me. I mean, first of all, many of us, myself included, can be prone to suppressing anger. But anger can be a really great teacher and when we suppress it, we can't learn from what it has to teach or show us. Anger can help us to see where our boundaries might've been crossed, where our needs are not being met or where we're not being treated with the respect and kindness that we would really like to be. So it's really important to recognize anger when it arises, let yourself feel it instead of suppressing it, and then explore what it's telling you about what's not working for you and what you would like to do about it.

Then you're in a position to take empowered, intelligent action to change things in your life for the better. So for instance, you know, you might want to have a talk with somebody about a behavior that's really having an impact on you. And you can do that in a really kind and clear way. You can choose for instance, to say no to that extra workload that your boss is trying to give you. You can take action in the form of standing up for injustice.

Standing up against bullying or governments and corporations acting in ways that are harmful or oppressive. So it's not easy to know always exactly what to do with the anger. You know, sometimes it's just not that simple, but try to slow things down when you feel anger. Stay in touch with what you're feeling in a mindful way so that you can think more clearly and stay curious about what you might be able to do to take wise action, to look after yourself and others. This all being said, be wary of how anger can really hijack your mind and infect your thoughts with fear-based kind of thinking, attack and defense narratives.

It can give rise to ill will and resentment, justifications, rigid position of like, I'm right and they're wrong. I'm good and they're bad, or that feeling of wanting to lash out and cause harm. The reality is agency ,fierce compassion, empowered action, expressing boundaries, speaking out about injustice - none of these requires aggression, hatred or ill will. All can be done with wisdom, clarity, and love. So don't be afraid of your anger.

The next time it arises, acknowledge it, befriend it, learn from it and let it be a protective and mobilizing force for positive change in your life and in the world. As always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And let's settle in now for today's practice.