Ever been in a funk on the path of personal and spiritual growth? Those times when you feel discouraged, irritable, or angry, and can’t seem to shift out of it? “I’m not in the mood to be patient,” we might say, “I have to get to my appointment!” We snap at our kids for leaving their socks all over the house, or blow up when someone interrupts our precious yoga practice. We try to go outside for solace beneath a tree, but we can’t seem to shake it.
Anger gets a bad rap in the therapy – and spirituality – community. It’s labeled a “negative” emotion, and for good reason. When anger runs us and we react to it, it can blow like a volcano and make quite a mess of our relationships.But the truth is that anger isn’t inherently a bad emotion. In fact, anger, like all emotions, has a purpose and is a necessary part of being a human. Anger matters, and you can learn to work with it in a helpful way.
I’m writing this post during the summer, and it’s pretty toasty outside. A lot of us are feeling hot under the collar. But the heat I’m talking about in this post is when we become triggered in some way and feel angry, irritable, agitated, or even afraid. Knowing what works and having a plan to get yourself back to your center and a feeling of ease is paramount, especially in our current pandemic when almost everyone is being triggered by almost everything.
It’s quite common in spiritual circles to put down anger. Anger is bad, they say. Or anger is unenlightened. We must transcend our anger. We must think loving, good thoughts, and put all that anger out of our mind.
Hogwash.
Saying that anger is bad, whether it’s tacit or directly stated, is just another way that we beat ourselves up and deny our truth and empowerment. It’s an easy way to judge and criticize ourselves or others for anything less than perfect behavior.
