Anger isn't always bad...

Anger gets a bad rep. Counselors, psychologists and just people in general have a hard time addressing anger at its core. Often times anger is dismissed and "underlying emotions" are addressed as the core emotions. 

Sometimes it's true that other core emotions such as fear, sadness, anxiety, and such are actually the root of the anger displayed. But this is not universally and always true. Sometimes anger is just anger. Pure, raw, powerful and full of energy.

Can we try to accept anger for what it is and instead of dismissing it, channel it into something productive and life changing? This is a challenge I want to put out there to you. Instead of dismissing the anger you feel, channel its awesome energy and power into something useful in your life and try to make a positive change using your anger as fuel for your transformation. Empower yourself by telling yourself it's okay to feel anger as long as you use it for good instead of destroying yourself and your relationships with others. Stop believing you don't have control over your ability to take charge of your feelings. Feel your feelings, all of them. Don't label them as good or bad. Just feel. And take the energy each feeling produces and channel it in a meaningful way so that you can make a positive difference in your own life as well as the life of the community in which you live.

There is no such thing as a "bad" feeling. All feelings are valid and equal in their ability to be useful or destructive. You get to choose how you will use your feelings. YOU are the one in charge. Breathe. Observe. Think and reflect. And then...Carry on. 

Lesson: Anger can be used as fuel to get you to where you want to be. It's not about being destructive. It's about being constructive with whatever you have and whatever you're feeling at the moment. Believe me, I'm a counselor. I get angry and it pisses me off when my anger is negated or villianized. Being pissed off is life's way of giving you a little shot of caffeine so you can get off your ass and do something different. Don't be calm. Rage on and conquer your life! 

The lies we tell ourselves...

We lie to ourselves. It's the truth. We tell ourselves if only we had this or that, if only we could be here or there, then our life would be better. We pick out specifics about what we think we need and want in order to live more happily. We rarely look into ourselves to see why we feel we are missing so much in our life. 

The truth is that under the same exact conditions, we are completely accepting of what is when we feel good about ourselves. When we see the glass as half full, the beverage in the glass doesn't matter. This is because we see ourselves as complete. However, when we are feeling low, no matter how full our glass is, it's just never full enough.

This condition is one that can never be remedied. No amount of "stuff" will fill that void. We are not taught to dig deep within ourselves, pull out the rot and then replace it on our own, although we are perfectly capable of it. We are always directed to something out there, out in the world, out in society, in someone else to look at to try to fill the void or fix the void. 

I don't blame you. It's the only way today's society and the economy can function. If people actually realize that no "thing" or "person" can fill the void, and that it's a never-ending job of working on yourself, then we would stop spending so much money and time looking outside ourselves for peace. 

Peace is a state of mind. It's not a "thing" easily achieved through purchases and material goods. It's not a location either nor is it who you're with. It's a state of being and it's demonstrated through your actions towards yourself and others. 

Now that you know, though truly I'm thinking you already knew this in your inner core, I expect you to tell yourself the truth and instead of looking outside yourself for the "fix," look within, know your broken pieces are what makes you beautiful and complete as only you can be. Only your broken pieces fit together perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle which eventually allows others to see you as whole.

Lesson: The truth is so much more beautiful and empowering than the lies we tell ourselves. Believe me, I see you. :)