Anger

Dear Seekers,

Many of us have gotten very good at talking ourselves out of emotions. One common way people walk away from their anger or hurt is by calling themselves "overly sensitive." Systems of oppression and their proponents love this...as long as the problem is located inside you, then you don't have to be mad at the forces that made you feel like too much or not enough. If someone has every criticized your emotion, they are usually saying "your feeling makes me uncomfortable, so I am going to try to dismantle it, rather than deal with my own discomfort." Our anger can be a catalyst for change, if we choose to focus on how it exists inside of us, not just venting about the actions outside of us. Once we recognize that our anger might actually be a “tragic expression of unmet needs” (Marshall Rosenberg, the founder of The Center for Nonviolent Communication), or a potential sign that something is not ok, we begin to give it what it needs: recognition, validation, and an opportunity for justice.