"anger takes so much of the world personally. it is an egotistical emotion. i am not convinced negative passion is useful to the world. not until it can create, generate. i am impressed when anger yields more life, more beauty. i am learning that usually that only happens when it is thoroughly indulged and can give way to the hurt, vulnerability, to what lies beneath."
~ Adrienne Maree Brown
I loved this post on Zora. I love the expression "negative passion."
Anger is something we all have, and very few of us know how to manage. I've meditated a long time on what the possible benefits of anger could be. I've meditated to dispel anger. I've learned that there is something I think of as righteous anger, which is usually brought on my social injustices, or infractions of personal boundaries. I've read a lot on anger from a lot of people other people respect, but I've never found anything that has given me respect for anger as a positive part of life.
Brown's exploration of anger is one of the most in-depth and well communicated ones I've encountered. It's helpful for anyone dealing with and processing anger. Which is everyone. She goes far beyond the sit down and meditate or count to ten when you're angry recommendations that seem to be the only practical options we have come up with as a civilization. In my experience, they just squelch the anger impulse over time, and dull it, rather than allowing it to instruct us toward safety and health. They neglect to teach us how to express it in situations when it does need expression, and instead, the anger often surfaces instead in inappropriate situations and directions.
I think we're a long way from truly understanding anger, its purposes and its potential non-violent usefulness. But Brown goes a long way toward starting a conversation here.
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