Being peaceful with all my emotions, including feelings of anger, seems to be be one of my lessons at the moment. Anger has been one of the hardest emotions to give myself permission to have. There's shame attached to being angry. I repressed my anger it as a way to avoid the feelings of shame. But that's unhealthy. Accepting my feelings without judgement, and facing the underlying feelings of shame, is.
Yesterday, my partner scolded me for expressing my anger at a situation. To my surprise, my reaction to his comment was to be angry with him. In the past, I would have cowered, feeling like I had done something wrong. Today though, no one gets to shut my feelings down. He and I have since laughed about our little disagreement, but at the same time, I'm setting a new boundary in our relationship. But more importantly, I'm creating new rules for me to live by.
Do you repress your anger? As a result, do you find yourself feeling resentful of others, perhaps blaming them? By stifling your emotions, you deny yourself the gift of freedom to be who you are.
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Watching the sunset at Venice beach
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and
those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss
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"I am safe to be real with myself and others"
