Last week I watched a full orange moon drop below the trees in front of my window, and I pondered the utility of anger.

More like, I felt, intensely, anger. Not directed toward anyone. Not because I had been specifically wronged. Not because my life was without blessing.

But because I felt stymied. I felt stuck. 

I knew that there were many, many things I had to be thankful for. I knew what I wanted to get done in my life. I knew that I had the talent and wherewithal to follow through on this.

I just couldn't see my way clear. Which frustrated me.

Why, I asked the Universe/God, has the path become obscured by obstacles? Why do I keep having to deal with the same problems I seem to have dealt with before, in slightly disguised form?

It was the burning clarity of anger that motivated me to begin pushing past those obstacles, like a full orange moon, blazing its way across the night sky.

I needed the fire of passion to move me forward.

How many times do we discount the power of pure, intense, non-judgemental, non-violent anger?

How many times do we sublimate our feelings of injustice or frustration, and become, rather than motivated to change, cynical and bitter?

How many times do we attempt to avoid anger, and instead become passive-aggressive, as we maneuver our agendas forward?

Anger, and its energy, has gotten a bad rap.

By the time many of us encounter it, it has become distorted.

It has become most often associated with violence, injury and death.

But the fire of anger has also changed the course of civilizations. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jesus Christ each understood this, and used this fire to burn away hatred and inequality--manifestations of anger, misdirected.

Myself, I cannot claim to know the suffering witnessed by Gandhi, King or Christ.

My suffering has been distinctly my own, and much of it caused by my desire to be loving and compassionate toward others.

All the while, perhaps, being far less loving and compassionate toward myself.

Last week I watched a burning orange orb of moon drop below the trees.

I felt a pure burning anger of renewal course through my being.

This week I awaken to a greater love.

A  love for myself, which will in turn enable me to better love the world in which I live.

 

evening sky

July 2012

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Dr. Lisa's Bountiful Blog is read on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour & Podcast. Show summaries are available on the Dr. Lisa website. Subscribe to   podcasts of the show through iTunes and let us know what you think.