Anger

I read that anger is a great emotion for covering up other emotions. Often we are angry when we want to avoid being sad. We can also get angry when we want to avoid being fearful. We can also be angry because something was unjust and wrong.

It's important allow the feeling of anger. Anger is an emotion that has a place. People who refuse to feel their anger often find that they end up with health problems later on. This does not mean that we can take our anger out on other people. We need to find productive ways to manage it.

Buddhists might sit with it. Others run marathons. Still others scream in the shower or beat pillows. I'm not sure it matters what works for you, I just think it's important to acknowledge the anger and feel it and then let it dissipate on it's own. When we can acknowledge when we are angry and feel that anger, it is less likely to build up and explode over some small little thing that really isn't important. The more we attend to our anger, the more we learn about it's nuances. Are we covering up another emotion or are we righteously angry?

If we are righteously angry, this anger might motivate us to take productive action to change the situation that causes our anger. Are we angry that the people in our life have let us down? Perhaps we can tell them. Are we angry that there is so much poverty in the world? Perhaps we join in with other like minded individuals and work towards change.

Anger in and of itself is not a bad thing nor is it an impediment to peace or peaceful living. It is only unacknowledged anger and inappropriate expresion of it that becomes the impediment. For this reason we must all recognize and acknowledge that things that make us angry. In addition we will find more help for ourselves if we can find out why these things trigger our anger.