Anger

 

"It's okay to be sad, and even a little mad, but not entirely angry at the world" Willow Chance, Counting By 7s.

   Something I have a lot of experience with is anger, Whether it be controlling it, or bearing its weight, or battling its storm. It follows us relentlessly, in every walk of life. We feel it waiting in the drive through, we feel it when are plans go awry. We feel it with the people we love most. But the thing about anger, it only hurts us. Holding on to anger, it only infects you, it makes you unhappy. It is like a darkness hanging over our souls. 

The other amazing thing about anger? it doesn't have to be there. We can decide to let it go, we can decide to see the good. Really, the world is all about perspective. 

Personally when standing in line hungerly waiting for my food, I never let anger envelope me. Instead I lean on empathy. I think about the waitress, she's probably stress right now, and I really don't need to add to that buy spewing words I will only regret. In fact the best thing I could do for myself is offer a kind smile. In fact the best tool against all anger is empathy. Put yourself in their shoes. 

We always give ourselves grace. If you were the waiter, you would wish these people would stop yelling at you, you didn't get enough sleep, life is hard for you right now. You wish for grace. And yet when roll are reversed you give no grace.

I learned this practice from my grandmother and I really think it is worthwhile. She told me once about her mother. Their relationship was bad, and she told me she had spent so much time hating her, it was hurting herself. And so she would start doing this. She would think about everything she loved about her mother. Every fond memory. And then she could let her anger go. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to come up with something. Find something, and then let more and more things come. Until you can let go of your anger. You don't have to forgive, you don't have to forget, you just have to let go.

 When someone hurts you, you don't need to forgive them. But you can let your anger go. Your anger only hurts you more. Letting yourself dwell on the past will only hurt you more. Forgiveness is not saying "What you did was okay." Forgiveness is saying I choose to let go. 

I choose to let go.

- Your crazy philosophical friend

~Quill