Anger is exhausting

It is the most simple phrase, but yet one that seems to have drastic implications. "Anger is exhausting" serves both as a warning and reminder.

It is amazing how dangerous anger can be. Anger makes us all irrational. It makes us ignore the ones we love, it hides our beauty, it removes our focus, and it challenges our passions. Anger, which is truly the greatest hinderance to life, takes us off course. It is the perfect excuse to blame others for our life's direction. It is the perfect excuse to stop doing what you are good at. It is the perfect excuse to hate and divide. The problem is, this excuse gets you nowhere.

Anger splits us up. Why is that? Because anger leads us to hate. What is tragic is how hate robs us of loving someone. Anger makes us not even understand the other side or the totality of the circumstances.

I can't tell you how many times in my life I wish I followed this warning. I have been so angry at so many people, that I have often lost focus and constantly have no energy. Angry at friends, at family, at co-workers, at people who I don't even know. The weight of that anger is exhausting.

The problem is, life is far better without this weight. Anger is a burden. Anger is useless. Worst of all, anger is exhausting. Anger just exposes our deepest insecurities. It makes us fight for the notion that we are "right" and they are "wrong," and everyone should know. That facade eats at us. It breaks us down.

Anger beats you down.

I don't have much to say besides Anger just is not worth it. Sadly I find myself in that camp, and then I need to remind myself, it is not worth it. It is not worth it to get angry over politics. It is not worth it to get angry over theology. It is not worth it to get angry over the words someone said about me. It is not worth it to get angry over

I don't often tell people to be selfish, but be selfish when it comes to your anger. What I mean is, anger is not taking care of yourself, it is making you exhausted by expelling energy that you could use for other desires. Can you imagine how much energy and focus you could have if you just let things go.

This is a philosophy that I find in Philomena. Remarkable movie by the way. To just simplify it, there are two characters on a journey to find one of the other characters sons. The is also looking for the character. What happens is it is discovered that the nuns at the orphanage took and adopted the son out, and burning the trails so that no connection could be made. When it was discovered that a connection could have been made, but they hide all options, and the nuns gave the child up for adoption without the permission of the mother of the son, instead of being spiteful, like the other character was, she forgave, and I quote "I forgive you because I don't want to remain angry." The character on the journey with the mother was upset and could not believe how she could "simply" just forgive, and the mother replies "it is not easy." But she realized that she would NEVER heal if she did not discover a path without anger.

It reminds me of something I have heard my mother say, a very wise woman, "You must be so tired being angry all the time."

Being angry is a natural reaction, but what good does it do? It weighs you down, it makes you exhausted. I understand it is not ideal, but I am just sick of being exhausted. It is not worth it.

It just is not worth it. I am demanding my energy be spent elsewhere.



On a side note, I am not talking about righteous anger, that is different. An anger that causes us to fix something. That is a good type of anger. For example, being angry about the fact that innocent children are being sold for sex, and having that anger cause you to do something about it, that is powerful. But being angry because Barack Obama is president and your friend voted for him, that is not healthy. Or being angry that someone in your church has a different view on Homosexuality then you, is not healthy. Or being angry that someone has consistently wronged you, is not healthy. Or being angry that someone differs from your views on a lot of topics with viable arguments, is not healthy.