Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Short Meditation on Anger

On the one hand, there is this from Aristotle:

Anyone can become angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not easy.


On the other hand, there is this image, taken in front of my apartment building last winter:



I don't know about you, but most of my experiences with anger look like the latter. At least this body still has its "sea legs" working.

3 comments:

Kamala said...

I'm trying to over come a lot of anger at the moment...er...projected anger. I may be pressing charges against someone who hurt me and everyone around me is expecting me to be angry and to want revenge when all I really want is a "clean" break. Anger scares me. My own anger scares me. Other peoples anger scares me and projected anger scares me as well.

Nathan said...

Hi Kamala,

I think anger still scares me to some extent to. I've been known to stuff it or try to avoid it until I get frustrated and overwhelmed. I guess I worry I can't handle the intensity of energy.

I completely understand your desire to move on, and make a clean break. I suppose there isn't much you can do about the ideas of others around you. I hope it all works out for you, whether or not you press charges.

As far as working with anger, there are guided meditations that focus on calling up situations that get you angry, and then experiencing the anger energy in your body as it comes and goes. You can do that at home, away from anyone, and see how it goes. It's a way to practice experiencing the energy without the pressure to do anything else that comes when others are around.

Best,
Nathan

Kamala said...

I think I may ask my T to help me with anger meditations to work through all of this. I used to have Martial Arts and skateboarding to help me with all of this but because of my hip I can't do those things anymore.