markdohle Posted June 28, 2013 #1 Share Posted June 28, 2013 (edited) The dance of resentment and anger This weekend, there is a retreat being offered on anger and resentment. It is usually full, one of our most popular retreats. I guess I have been doing this since 06, seeking to help others who like me have an ongoing dance with anger. It is seldom a gentle dance, a tender rounding about the room, but more like a very agitated tango. The agitation comes from the knowing that this anger and resentment are not the fault of those around me, so I can’t just use the shotgun approach and blast everyone….which by the way does not work either. Angry people who wound others and wish to share their pain are acting out of victimhood and either don’t want to, or don’t know how to take responsibility for their own emotional health. More often than not, they are caught in a whirlwind which only gets worse as they age. Some people are so angry that they actually don’t know it, but everybody else does who has to live with them. Repression is not always a bad thing, but when it affects others in a destructive manner…. then hopefully it is something that can be addressed. I was at a meeting once giving my opinion on the subject matter of the get-together. As I was talking; giving what I thought was a rational response, I noticed that the men around me were looking at me in a manner that I did not like. At that moment, I came to the realization that I just might be angry and don’t know it. So I started to apply my emotional breaks, but it took about 30 minutes to get myself back on track. It was a revelation to me that I could have been that angry and did not feel it. That is I guess why everyone else was feeling it so much and not responding in the way I that I was hoping for. It is easy to say that the spiritual path is simply dealing with ones recurring problems, harder in living it out. As I get older, and have less energy to deal with this kind of situation, I find myself more and more just sitting, not thinking and letting things settle down a bit…..I also pray like hell. Anger, the experience of carrying a wound around perhaps for a lifetime, or for many, for years, until some kind of closure is found, is a time when the wound can be shared, others brought into the fold of having to deal with being treated unjustly. Angry people always have good reason for doing what they do, perhaps we all do, even when it is destructive towards others and self. One of the avenues of healing is coming to grips with this reality. Of how we each are both the one who wound others, as well as the wounded, it comes full circle, often over and over again. When this is deeply pondered and prayed over, it can lead to actual compassion towards those who are consumed with anger and the need to blast those who are around them. For we know the pain they are experiencing and the frustration that things don’t get any better. In fact, life can steadily get worse and they can become more isolated. While anger is something good, for it gives us the energy to deal with injustice, to seek to right the wrong that is so common in our world today, it can also be a source of actual mental illness. Anger, resentment and yes rage, the child of both, leads to a narrowing of consciousness that assumes the job of judge, jury and executioner, to fall on one man or woman. It is only in the movies where this can actually work. Perhaps that is one reason why these movies are so popular, a world wherein a man or woman can get revenge, then go home and live happily every after. Does not happen, for the fire of rage only gets bigger when fed. I believe that this dance that I mentioned above is something that I will deal with all of my life….it is the thorn in my side that keeps me seeking deeper healing and a more profound response to grace. Death to self is a long drawn affair for me. Though there are those who do it more quickly and for them I am grateful, they give me hope. Grace is all Not pleasant much of the time, our existence, the gift, choices made our response, our deepening love and healing, the fruit of a loving trust in life’s process, even in the darkest hours. Edited June 28, 2013 by markdohle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashotep Posted June 28, 2013 #2 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Wow, its so much like what I'm dealing with. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted June 29, 2013 #3 Share Posted June 29, 2013 I been doing that dance all day, but I put on my meditation music and I am back to center. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSouls7 Posted June 29, 2013 #4 Share Posted June 29, 2013 After many years as a youth being on the "dark side" i was depressed, angry, hateful.. and dark. After going through some things.. reading and learning many things. I have found inner peace.... i met certain people along the way.. who I believe helped me reach this point in my life.. I feel an angelic peace inside my soul..heart.. and mind.... I am so Zen... I believe i have reached a certain level of inner peace and enlightenment... I now use my will and law of attraction to get and manifest what I want in life... As the same time my powerful and positive energy touches everyone around me. and also changes the world for the better... In the same way my "dark" hateful energy was destorying me.. and affecting everything and everyone around me in the past.... People can sense your energy and confidence.. when I go out now.. women always say hi lol.. it's so funny!!! but i'm not even looking for love.. i'm just letting my inner glow shine... I think if we all found inner peace... we would nt have anymore bad or darkness in this world... It took years to get emotional mastery... and defeat negative thoughts.. and emotions... but i found what was holding me back.. and got rid of.. and let go of those things... Now i only build for the future... in a positive way.. and I feel very self empowered.. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdohle Posted June 29, 2013 Author #5 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Wow, its so much like what I'm dealing with. LOL, I think it is something we all need to deal with, some more than others. Hope things are better for you today. peace mark I been doing that dance all day, but I put on my meditation music and I am back to center. Good, music is a great healer, opens up the heart. Peace Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted June 29, 2013 #6 Share Posted June 29, 2013 People can sense your energy and confidence.. when I go out now.. women always say hi lol.. it's so funny!!! but i'm not even looking for love.. i'm just letting my inner glow shine... Aren't you the one who wears the wizard outfit in public? Maybe I need to rethink that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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