The gift of anger

 

Anger is one of the emotions that many of us have a hard time owning. If you've been hurt in the past but never allowed yourself to go through the process of feeling the anger, the anger's still there. Because there is no outlet for the anger, you become a hostage to it.

 

"Whatever emotion you don't own will own you"

 

As hard as you deny you have unresolved anger, it's always right below the surface. Things such as being caught in traffic or a long line at the store, are some of the triggers that set it off.

 

When anger is trapped, you'll turn the anger on yourself and others. When you release your anger (by feeling it), you hand yourself the key to peace.

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Owning your feelings

Can you find the upside down heart in the background? 

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It's not so hard anymore to let myself be angry, but it once was. I was raised to be a good little girl. Yikes. Did that ever set me up for future problems. I spent a lifetime denying my anger, shoving it way down in my gut. And by the way, anger doesn't magically disappear when you shove it down, it just accumulates. I was in such denial that I had unresolved anger until the day I found it. Who would have thought finding my anger would turn out to be such a beautiful gift. Releasing it felt empowering. I reclaimed my right as a human to be angry. It's a natural emotion, but in denying myself the right to it, I had given my power away to become a door mat in my attempt to be a nice girl. Not only was I a door mat for others to walk on, but I added shame to my list because nice girls don't screw up. And don't you know, I screwed up a whole bunch. So then I carried shame along with buried anger. No wonder my life felt so heavy. Not anymore though. No shame, no unresolved anger and no more being a door mat. 

Do you tend to stuff your feelings? Are you carrying around old baggage? Give yourself a nice Christmas gift this year by being your authentic self, anger and all. 

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Capturing a special moment

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What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner. ~Colette

"I am free to express my feelings"