On Anger

Anger is most often destructive. We are trained to hate our anger, to suppress it. Yet if as Rousseau said, "Humans are essentially good" . . wouldn't anger, as one of the emotions that every human possesses, be essentially good as well?

This is hard to reconcile, especially when in today's world, anger causes so much destruction.

Yet what of a creative anger, a constructive anger? An anger such as the one our supposed teacher Jesus had, when he threw the money lenders from the temple - was that destructive?

Mountains can be angry. Water can be angry, fire, wind, the elements can be angry.

The prairies were angry during the Great Depression, angry at the desecration of the plains.
Hurricane Sandy was angry. Volcanos, hurricanes, all are evidence of nature's wrath.

Anger  may be thought of as being true to one's truth. A negative form of anger may be hiding what you truly think or believe, even if it wounds you to do so.

The wealthy - there's been a lot of talk about the wealthy lately - supposedly are angry about Obama's insistence that they no be given tax cuts during these trying times.

I am angry about a lot of things these days. I'm angry about the victimization of children, about the destruction of native peoples, about wars on foreign shores to give wealth to our defense contractors, about those who have everything continuing their hustle of those who have nothing.

I'm angry about the treatment of the Palestinian people by the Israelis, and about the violent response of Hamas.

Anger, may be used in a creative way. Use your anger to become like a rock. Use your anger to become like water, like fire, or the wind. Use it as the agent of truth that anger is meant to be. Use anger the way Bruce Lee used it.

Don't make it personal. Never direct it at a living thing. But you may direct it at what they DO, to expose what is false. Without hesitation, or remorse.

Anger that is used in this way, feels good for everyone. To quote a judo-master in an early Kurosawa work, "When you threw me - it felt wonderful."

A dam bursts - the water rejoices!

Yoga is the release of Anger.