The Beauty of Emotions: Anger

How could anger possibly be beautiful? How could it be something beneficial? All the time people say, “Don’t get angry!” You may try to hold back that anger, as it seems that anger is an unacceptable experience. You may use your anger to push others away. Or, you may use anger and turn it within yourself.

Anger is always used in a negative sense, and even the word has a heavy connotation that goes along with it. However, anger can be helpful when used in the right way. In his book Voice of the Heart, Chip Dodd explains that anger can show passion and an experience of other feelings.

Passion: When you get passionate about something, you become riled up. You desire for whatever you may be passionate about to be done. Your desire to fulfill this passion is a type of anger. Dodd writes, “Anger is a caring feeling, telling us that something matters.” This is even true when fighting in any type of relationship. You are fighting because it matters to you. It is important and you feel passionate about it. The depth of your anger shows how far you are willing to go to defend what you believe in.

Experience of other feelings: Anger is a way of alerting a person to other things that they may be feeling. For example, after the death of someone close, a person may feel anger at the loss. In reality, this shows that first this person mattered to you and second that you are sad because of the loss. Therefore, the anger this person may feel is really a manifestation of sadness. It also hides the vulnerability a person may be experiencing. You protect yourself from others and feelings by showing anger. You build a wall of anger surrounding yourself, so you don’t have to let others know the emotions you are truly experiencing. It may seem like it works, but over time it can destroy you.

So now what to do with this anger? Use the things you find make you angry as motivation for movement. Turn the anger into action to express yourself, to help others, and to open yourself up to feel the passion inside of you. Don’t be afraid that showing anger is weakness. Dodd cites Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln as two great men who were moved by their anger. Without their passion, the world would be drastically different than it is now.

Open up yourself to vulnerability of anger. Find what you are passionate about, how passionate you are, and strive towards movement.

“Anger helps us pursue full life by exposing the substance, desires, and commitments of our hearts.” – Chip Dodd