Anger is an energy.....

Follwoing on from the theme of yesterdays blog post, I am quite certain that the shift through the 1960's and '70's towards a loved up, pacifist mentality that tries to find compromise and seek mutually acceptable resolution to conflict is a wrong headed approach. I am aware that this may not be a politically correct option and that there has been a tremendous history in our species of the negative effects of anger, but for me this is something of a misinterpretation. If we consider many of the conflicts throughout history these have certainly been aggressive acts expressing anger, but that anger has been driven by another emotion, fear, jealousy, panic, greed, whatever, the point is that they were not an act based in anger as a pure and isolated emotion. For me, the isolation or compartmentalisation of discrete emotions is crucial to the use of the energy of that emotion in a productive way. There is something delicious about the raw, screaming rage that comes from a very primal part of the brain unfettered by any of the emotional baggage that usually surrounds an anger response, unshorn of the concerns of appropriateness or concern over consequences.

To scream ones rage to the wind is one of the purest expressions f our animal energy and it is a gift that should be treasured rather than repressed. Anger is not a negative emotional state, it isn't ugly or false, it is something that we all experience and personally I would contend should allow ourselves to experience fully, embracing it as we embrace happiness, craving it as we crave love or companionship. I am convinced that it is the repression of our most instinctive emotions and mind states that is at the root of many of the current mental health issues that are reaching epidemic proportions in the Western World.

Now, don't get me wrong, anger for the sake of anger is pointless, anger that spills over into aggression towards others should be anathema, anger that is allowed to fester as resentment is to be avoided, but these are allowing the pure emotion to be corrupted. There has been a link with repressing anger associated with the major World religions, but one only has to look at the parable of the casting out of the money changers in the bible to see that within Christian dogma there is a place for pure anger and rage, but it was anger directed and focused and used for a specific purpose. Looking at the other major faiths we see a constant refrain of anger used for constructive purposes, as seen in the story of Odin being given the secrets of the runes, his anger being the driving force that kept him going through his challenge.

So, if you want a happier and more creative mental state, embrace anger, understand it, work with it rather than against it.....but a note of caution....without understanding, anger is nothing, without understanding and control anger can be and will only be, negative and unproductive. Learn to love your anger, learn to accept it and acknowledge it, work with it, embrace it.........

Love and light ;D