I believe in the Upside of Anger
I believe in the upside of anger. I believe in the things anger helps us to see when we are blinded by happiness, in the courage it can force out of us when we are faced with adversities, in the strength it calls to deep within us (the kind of strength you never knew you had until you needed to keep on going), and in the candid words that seemed buried in the back of our heads until our fury didn’t let them hide anymore.
Sitting behind the computer one day as I sat people watching the world outside my office (children strolling by with out a care in the world a bit ahead of their guardians, who were too caught up with finding their cell phone in their purses or back pockets to notice the beautiful day) it occurred to me how I always seem to put things off. I usually complain about my “half-ass” attitude towards everything. Things as small as writing a good paper but turning it in late, to bigger, more important things like saying good bye to my grandfather, who’s no longer with us, promising to listen to his stories another day and never being able to get that far before it was too late. As I thought about all of the opportunities I had let pass me by, I grew increasingly angry. I had become so irritated with myself I could feel the tears of frustration run down my cheek. I didn’t feel like there was anyone I should to talk at that moment because I knew exactly what was wrong and what I needed to do to fix things. I also felt like the anger I was feeling needed to set in.
Being frustrated can only take you so far, but being angry can make things inside you didn’t even know you have burn. Anger infuses emotions we didn’t know we could feel and if we point it in the right direction people could possibly benefit more from being angry than they would from being happy all the time. I believe that if we take our anger and turn it against itself, we can use that rage to help us get to where we want to be.
I believe Martin Luther King not only had a dream, but that he also had his anger turn into his drive to make this world a better place. I believe Walt Disney not only had a vision, but that he had the anger of rejection ignite his ambition so much he did not stop until he made his dream come true. I believe in the upside of anger, because sometimes with out the passion anger gives us there’s just not enough drive to keep going. When I count my blessings, I thank God for letting me be angry.