What are you so angry about?

[TygrBright]

Did the sun not come up this morning?

Are there no leaves turning beautiful colors in your neighborhood?

Did you not see anyone to smile at today-- to exchange a smile with?

Is there no music for you to listen to?

You tell me that bad things are happening-- so true. Yet... bad things are always happening. Bad things happen to everyone every day. But good things also happen to everyone every day.

What does anger do to change the things that need changing?

By itself, nothing.

Anger raises your blood pressure.

Anger releases stress hormones in your brain and in your body, and those stress hormones make you feel worse.

Anger is hard to be around, unless you are angry yourself. So, when you're so angry, all you'll attract is other angry people. You'll feed each others' anger and it will grow until you hurt inside and believe terrible things about the world, about the future, about other people.

You're not smart when you're angry.

You make bad decisions when you're angry.

Making bad decisions and doing things that are not smart will make you more angry, and more unhappy.

There is much to be angry about.

People do bad things, people do stupid things, people do mean things. People lie and cheat and steal and exploit other people and dehumanize them.

Sometimes-- maybe a lot of the time-- people do those bad things because...

...they are angry.

Do you want to change the world?

Then let go of your anger.

People will always be different than you.

They will believe different things, they will believe things you know are wrong. They'll do bad things and stupid things and mean things and things that hurt you and other people, innocent people and helpless people.

You can be angry about it.

Or you can let go of your anger and look for ways to make change happen in YOUR life, in YOUR world, among the people around YOU.

Getting angry at other people rarely makes them change in positive ways. It usually makes them avoid you, or get angry at you.

Let go of your anger.

Something good happened to you today. I just know it.

Maybe someone smiled at you.

Maybe you heard a lovely melody.

Maybe you saw gorgeous colors in the sky as the sun set.

Maybe you tasted something that was delicious.

Maybe you felt warm and comfortable for a while.

Maybe, just maybe, if you try, you can feel hopeful about something. A little thing. Hopeful that something nice might happen to someone you care about. Hopeful that you'll find something to laugh at--and someone to laugh WITH--tomorrow.

Let go of your anger. You can't control what other people will do. Your anger won't change it.

Your anger will only add to the sum total of anger in the world, and the larger that sum total, the harder it is to make positive change.

Positive change comes from positive people.

Don't stop fighting. Change needs to be made.

But be a happy warrior.

Smile at someone who disagrees with you, and let the disagreement go. Just smile at them and be glad that they're human and alive and someone loves them even if it can't be you. They might surprise you someday.

Don't compromise your principles.

Don't stop standing up for what is right.

But do it with joyful purpose. Find the joy and use it.

It is there, I promise you. If you look.

There will be a beautiful sunrise somewhere tomorrow. Maybe where you are. And you're alive to see it.

Maybe the beautiful sunrise will happen, not where you are, but where someone you care about is. And they are alive to see it.

Is this not cause for joy?

Let go of your anger.

Breathe deep.

Sleep well.

I love you.

I do, you know.

I don't always agree with you.

Sometimes I get angry at you, too.

But I'm learning, slowly, to be glad I am alive. And to be glad that you are alive.

And to try to love you, always.

There are as many reasons to be joyful as there are to be angry, if you look.

Small reasons, sometimes. Reasons that might seem insignificant against the injustice and cruelty we practice upon each other, every day.

Nevertheless, there are reasons to be joyful. Let go of your anger, just for a day or two. Let the anger melt out of your body, relax. Move freely. Dance a little. Fling yourself around like a giddy fool. Pay attention to how you feel, without anger. Pay attention to how you feel, taking pleasure in a small thing, and letting it fill your world for a few moments.

It's a good feeling.

Give it a try.

diffidently,
Bright

[some guy]

1. I love you too.

partly just because you always sign your posts.

diffidently
curiously
etc.

:hi:

:hug:

[SeattleGirl]

2. Tygr, that was a great post, and a great reminder that

anger can be a disabling force in our lives and in our world. Thank you.

[MrScorpio]

3. Peace and love!

:hug:

[clarence swinney]

37. a little thing

We have always Had a saying in our home
THERE WILL BE NO "ARGUMENTING" INSIDE THIS HOME"
Want to argue or fight go outside and go at it.

Funny! I come in for dinner and look on face is not happy one.

Three kids in unison would yell
"Dad, no "argumenting" in here"

It always got me smiling.

[Number23]

4. Rec'd. At this point the anger and especially the "anger" is so over the top

to almost be comical even though I'm sure it's not intended to be. Folks just need to stop.

[Hekate]

5. That is really truly lovely, Bright

Peace and joy to you :hug:

Hekate

[tavalon]

6. And if all else fails

Watch Terminator: Salvation. I laughed so hard these last two hours, I don't care that I can't ever get those hours back.

You are so right. Being angry just saps energy. And the ephemeral "they" are counting on us to be angry but immobile. We should be neither.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” Mahatma Ghandi

[JTFrog]

7. Thank you for that.

:hi:

[Fruittree]

8. I just read all the posts about Valerie Jarrett and..

yours is precisely what I needed - Thank you!!!!

[Scurrilous]

9. Thanks.

K & R :thumbsup:

[babylonsister]

10. I just love your posts, Bright. Thanks for the shot of

positivity, and I love you back! :loveya:

[BridgeTheGap]

11. Yes, take time to smell the roses and be grateful. Here's what Ghandi said about anger:

"I have learned through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmuted into a power which can move the world." M.K. Ghandi

[Bluenorthwest]

12. The Mahatma is not saying 'anger is bad' but like John Lydon

he is saying 'anger is an energy'. The Mahatma is not saying 'let go of your anger it is bad' he is saying 'used properly anger can change the world.' Very different things. He says control the great force of anger. The OP says 'anger just raises your blood pressure, so chillax!' and that is not the same thing at all. Not at all.
Gandhi : anger controlled can change the world.
OP: Chill out, anger is bad for you.

I'm with the Mahatma, frankly. The majority will always tell those they oppress not to be angry, that they should be happy and sing songs as they work. The majority says 'chill, he's go this' and then they say 'only straights are Sanctified by God so you should not have rights, but don't be upset that we call your family a group of strangers who deserve no legal protection. Don't be angry when we call your spouse a stranger. Chill. Let us abuse you in peace.

[BridgeTheGap]

13. Agreed, which is why I posted the Ghandi quote. There is such a thing as justified anger.

How can anyone see injustice and not experience anger? Yes, anger is problematic, i.e. look at the anger of some of the tea baggers, unexamined anger rooted in hatred. But, you know, there should be anger over the usurping of our government by forces who absolutelty do not have the best interests of our country/citizens in mind.
That said, it is important to be a balanced human being. Anger can cause one to become irrational, but it doesn't have to, as Ghandi so adroitly points out.

[Bluenorthwest]

14. To say that anger 'only raises your blood pressue' is like saying

fire only destroys forests, so we should not build one to be warm at night, nor to light the path. Balance and control are not what the OP is suggesting.
The anger that one needs to watch out for often pretends to be something else, like 'good advice'. In Denmark, they say, one can smile, and smile...

[treestar]

19. But Ghandi seems to me to have meant put it aside and use the energy

Indulging in it just makes things worse. Had Ghandi done that, it would have been out and out war or terrorism he'd resorted to.

[BridgeTheGap]

20. The word he used is "conserve," which, to me, doesn't mean to put it aside. Beyond that, he used

his anger in a constructive way, or at least as a sort of fuel to keep him going. That is very different than the anger consuming you/me and acting out in blind rage. Again, though, anger seems to be normal reaction to perceived injustice. What one does with that anger is an entirely different matter, as, I think, Ghandi exemplified.

[Spazito]

15. That is absolutely beautiful and very true...

I am very sorry, I meant to rec and hit the wrong 'button'. I would love to see this on the greatest page as it would be well deserved.

Thank you for writing this for me to find first thing in the morning, it is a wonderful way to start the day.

Recommended (even though I hit unrec by mistake)

[olegramps]

16. When you see gross injustice you are suppose to smile. I don't think so.

There is justified anger. It is how your anger is directed to achieve justice that is important.

[Uncle Joe]

17. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Tygr, love and peace to you.:thumbsup:

[treestar]

18. Very nice.

I agree, anger can make you a bit energetic, but it only seems that way - it's a sense of purpose that lets you get things done - anger only makes things worse.

[Blue_Tires]

21. thanks for this

[yurbud]

22. this reminds me of what Bush said after Enron collapse: don't worry about money so much

focus on your family and spiritual things.''

Sometimes anger is the correct response and the only way to effect the sweeping change necessary.

[Demeter]

23. If you have to ask this question, then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

A word to the wise...is usually unnecessary.

[TygrBright]

24. What confuses me most about some of the responses to this post....

...is that, when I wrote it, I was thinking about the Tea Partiers.

I didn't think it was necessary to say that, here.

I guess it is.

Sorry if I've offended anyone by seeming to dismiss or belittle your righteous anger.

bemusedly,
Bright

[russspeakeasy]

25. Perfect timing.....thanks...

[HughMoran]

26. Thanks for posting this here

:thumbsup:

[azmouse]

27. Beautiful.

K&R

[Shireling]

28. It doesn't matter who you addressed this question to

It helped me. Such beautiful thoughts. I remember when I used to live in thAT place (consciousness) you are describing.

Then I developed a chronic illness which causes inflammation in my brain and makes it so hard to be in a good mood, some days.

And then I started seeing our country go to hell and it scared the hell out of me.

But these days, I am making every effort to find my way back to that special place.

Even if I can't think clearly sometimes, or feel too tired to move sometimes, or my body is causing me to be irritable, I still know that happiness is real and in the present. It is within me and within all of us.

Thanks for reminding me. I am going to make it.

We will all make it. PEACE. Even as we deal with our personal challenges, the challenges of our planet, of our country.

PEACE peace PEACE. :loveya:

[Martin Eden]

29. "You're not smart when you're angry"

When you're smart -- and you see injustice and bigotry and lies that hurt real people who deserve better -- it is appropriate, normal, and perhaps essential to be angry.

Anger can be a powerful motivator. At the very least, this strong emotion informs the rational center of your brain that efforts are required to bring about change. This emotional trigger is more powerful than the same conclusion arrived at on a purely intellectual level.

However, to be truly smart about it, the crucial decisions need to be made on an intellectual and rational level after you have cooled down from the strong emotion.

The point I'm trying to get across is that anger and smart are not mutually exclusive.

I think where you're coming from is that if you let yourself become overwhelmed by outrage overload (anyone remember the Bush years?) then you become an emotional wreck and therefore less capable of sorting out which battles you should fight and making wise decisions in that context.

[txlibdem]

34. Sometimes anger is the only rational choice

Well said on that point. Children dying of cancer because some multi-millionaire insurance executive crafted the system in such a way as to maximize profits with absolutely NO other considerations. Maximum profits trump your child's dying for lack of (expensive) treatment. This makes me angry. And sad. And depressed. Yet the only member of my extended family (by blood) was my dad who died at 79 of lung cancer and smoked non-filtered cigarettes and a pipe since he was 6 years old. It has no relation to me. By all the rules of Capitalist America I shouldn't give a crap because it hasn't hurt me or my family. Yet it makes me angry that we haven't taken our pitchforks and axes and smashed this evil system that kills so many children each year.

Making excuses for an evil system is the truly irrational thing to do.

[K8-EEE]

30. K&R!! nt

[SunsetDreams]

31. K&R, beautiful post, thank you I needed that

[awoke_in_2003]

32. "What are you so angry about?"...

Somebody pissed in my Post Toasties (sorry, you left that one out :) )

[awoke_in_2003]

33. As to the beautiful colors...

(I am assuming you mean autumn colors) Texas leaves have 2 colors- green and alive, brown and dead. I miss Ohio in the autumn.

[clarence swinney]

35. WHY?

Has this 86 year old been so blessed?
Never had an illness
Too Dumb?
I enjoyed a poor childhood.
A WWII service with outstanding people
College on "GI Bill" a big big thing in my life
Great family of three kids all successful and good.
Great business career in largest firms in America
I try to explain in my book LIFEAHOLIC (great for college students and young married
couples. University President wrote: "Every college student should have this information")
but I have never been able to fully comprehend WHY.
clarence swinney olduglymeanhonest mad mad mad

[clarence swinney]

36. THANKS SUPERB

The comments are excellent.
I was Psychology Major in college and studied human behavior all my life.
Happiness is covered with many comments and yours.

I seek simple clues.

Anger--wow! politics gives reasons to be angry

Smile-great asset--in grad school a project was Power Of A Smile
My paper was on my selling door to door. Before, I rarely smiled at lady who opened door. Then-Big Smile. Sales tripled. Never invited in before but Big Smile opened probably two thirds of doors. SMILE=BIG ASSET

Little Things--enjoy them--yes!
Just being on golf course-on lake fishing or water skiing with sons- visiting places with family inside 100 miles of home- I have been all over America and outside but most joy was within 100 miles of home. Employees with ideas to improve-just enjoying them--wonderful meals together.Reading. Talking.

I have many examples in my book LIFEAHOLIC. $10. B&N. Amazon.

This article is so great and we do need them regularly to remind us of our good fortune.

My H.S. 66th Reunion and slip asked me to tell what is my greatest thrill each day.
My reply--"When I get a phone call from Virginia Tech and a beautiful 20 year old beauty says : "Grandpa I Love you and sure do miss you".

Gets no better.
olduglymeanhonest beautiful inside

[L.Torsalo]

38. How true. Thank you for the common sense and optimism.

I think that "voter anger" is really the anger of the GOP. They are angry because they lost the elections and lost power. They are angry that they couldn't finish off FDR's legacy despite 2 wars and terror/fear climate. They are angry that W gave away all the money to the rich and will now need to be taxed for being rich. They are angry that honest, decent and hardworking people are no longer willing to be passive sheep. They are angry that they might be tried for their crimes. They are angry that the big pig feed at the trough of the US Treasury is over. And they are angry at themselves for screwing the pooch so totally.

...and that anger is the reason the Tea Party came into being. The Tea Party is the party of Republican anger.
Nice hat. Hope you'll enjoy wearing it for a very long time.

[northernlights]

39. beautiful. thank you.

I'm angry off and on right now because I hurt so bad. I took on debt to go back to school to "retool" myself...at age 56. I've work so hard for the past 3 years...I maintained a 4.0 average in a very difficult program.

And then 3/4s through the program they cut off my financial aid. They dragged their feet for weeks, blaming me for not reading a webpage (that does not exist), for not completing forms (that they never sent to me), making me fill out additional forms, making me write essays on how I got into this problem and how I'd correct this problem that I supposedly brought on myself.

So I had to keep working my evening job, as I started falling behind in school.

They finally approved my financial aid. The day after I failed my first exam because I ran out of steam and ran out of time. I failed it so badly, I may not be able to recover.

So I'm angry because I was lied to from day one by the program advisor, and then lied to by administration, and then screwed over by the financial aid dept.

I could have dumped my house 3 years ago and hunkered down somewhere...and I'd be in bettery shape than I am today after having taken on debt and worked my ass off.

And I'm tired. I'm tired of studying and studying and studying because the next exam is in 9 days, and another one the day after, and I'm trying to get back on track and get a high enough score on that exam to stay in the game...and at the same time get caught up on the info I wasn't able to learn in time so it will be there for the final exam if I make it that far.

The anger drains me. And I am only just now getting to the pain behind it.