Getting Upset Is Natural – Isn’t It?

Anger

“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.” Maya Angelou

I must confess that sometimes I blow off steam by getting upset. I will allow things to build up and then when I feel overwhelmed, I explode for the simplest thing. There was a time when I used to feel really bad when I got upset, but I’m beginning to learn that it is good to let off steam, sometimes.

Anger can be positive and I know that after I calm down I tend to see things differently. I actually make an effort to see what I can change about the situation that upset me in the first place. While anger can also be disruptive and can cause hurt, it can be used for good. In fact, anger tends to motivate me to work harder and to achieve my goals. I know that I can be hard on myself – feeling that I fail if I do not live up to my own expectations.

I know that unbridled anger can have negative health effects, but so can holding anger in. I remember reading about a study that showed that women who kept their anger in were three times more likely to die earlier. It is also a known fact that anger held in can lead to depression.

If you know me, you also know that I don’t remain angry for long. I just need to let off steam and relive the pressure building up inside. For me, these words of Malcolm X are true: “Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.”

After a period of anger I’m more motivated than ever to get moving, to do more, to fix what made me mad. Anger indicates that something is wrong and needs fixing. What about you, do you ever get angry and use it as a motivating force?

“Anger is like flowing water; there's nothing wrong with it as long as you let it flow. Hate is like stagnant water; anger that you denied yourself the freedom to feel, the freedom to flow; water that you gathered in one place and left to forget. Stagnant water becomes dirty, stinky, disease-ridden, poisonous, deadly; that is your hate. On flowing water travels little paper boats; paper boats of forgiveness. Allow yourself to feel anger, allow your waters to flow, along with all the paper boats of forgiveness. Be human.” - C. JoyBell C. (author of Saint Paul Trois Ch Teaux)