Anger is Never Without a Reason, But Seldom with a Good One

Your ears feel hot. The sounds around you are muffled because the pressure in your ears is so great. And to be honest, you're not paying attention to anything going on around you, anyway. You are just staring...at this tiny speck on the floor. Actually, you realize you're glaring at it with such intensity it might just vaporize into thin air, leaving only a small puff of steam behind to tell the story. Your teeth are clenched and the muscles in your back become stiff. A sense of time escapes you, as if you are in this solitary world made up just you, and this speck. You still haven't lost your concentration, not even to blink. You feel your heart pounding. It's not necessarily racing, but the strength of each heartbeat is so great you can feel it in your throat, gripping your ability to breath. As you sentence the speck on the floor to damnation, you are contemplating your next actions. In this solitary world you currently inhabit, with its thick walls of raw emotion, your list of options is limitless. Your mind rolls, easily, from one thought to the next, contemplating the best options and swapping words you could say for ones with greater potency.  You will be heard, and it will be loud and unmistakable. You have been wronged, but you will make it right.

Ever been here? In a moment of sheer anger?

Ever acted on it? Wished you would have acted with more grace? A bit more finesse?

Ever wished you had taken more time to relieve the pressure behind your ears before reacting?

Anger is a natural human emotion and it can be provoked in so many different ways. You can feel it at different levels, under different circumstances and towards different ideas or people. It can be a slow progression or it can strike in a single instant. It can take you by surprise or you may have been prepared for it. Everyone has experienced anger. It is okay to feel anger. 

Acting on anger, however, can be very dangerous. Often, you have not given yourself enough time to step back and truly weigh your options...and the consequences that follow. More times than not, the consequences of actions committed in anger are not analyzed properly...and sometimes not at all. What you feel is a great way to get your point across can have a million other hidden statements, subtle connotations that twist your initial objective and turn it into something much greater and far more damaging. Or, your actions could completely miss the target and, instead, send your wrath screaming in a different direction, spewing its ammunition onto unsuspecting passersby. 

Anger is powerful, and it can snowball and domino and obliterate. Standing up for yourself and protecting those you love is equally as powerful, but it only has meaning when it is done with purpose and carried out with grace. If others are wronged in the process, who otherwise had no part in it, it was all for not. The pain, then, is no better off than where it began; your cause no better suited than had you left it alone; and the damage no less than how it all started.

Be stronger than your worst days; act with intent and thoughtful purpose in lieu of reacting on raw, unguided emotion. Be aware of the consequences of your actions today, and be honest with yourself years down the road if find you regret them. For there will only be you to blame. 

To my dear friends and family, and the stranger on the street - when moments of anger find you, remember to seek out a clear mind and a full understanding before you make a decision. Consider the consequences and what you might think of yourself in an hour, a day, a year down the road. Don't let the actions of others force you down a road you wouldn't, otherwise, wish to take. Let the lessons learned from others guide you and do not allow anger or fear to cloud your judgement or stand in the way of allowing your best qualities to shine. Love, always.