A Blazing House

A raging sea                                                         
A hurricane without a calm eye
Like fire, it becomes a fearful master
conquering, ravaging
gnawing, shredding at your insides
It becomes you, it is you, it swallows you
and sometimes all you do
is drown.
Dany.

Anger is a familiar emotion, a natural reaction. From the stings of bees when triggered to human outbursts, there’s nothing foreign about anger. You deserve to feel angry no matter how insignificant the hurt seems to others. They’re your emotions and only you feel them. Infact, it is considered unhealthy not to feel all your emotions, as long as they don’t deviate from the norm. It leads to pent up emotions that may finally combust in displays of aggression. I’ve often found it laughable when people castigate others for not forgiving or for not resolving the anger they feel towards another. A truth people are yet to comprehend: When you treat forgiveness like your right, it becomes harder for the person to give it. Just like you cannot stand in front of a blazing house and demand that the fire cease, you cannot demand anger go away.

Nonetheless, anger is a destructive force. Sarah Klein called it ‘an emotional prison’. It is an emotional confinement that keeps you in your head, loathing the actions that were done against you. As Newton stated in his third law of motion that for every action, there’s a reaction. Notice how I left out the ‘equal and opposite’ part of that law. In moments, I sit back and wonder if actions do require equal reactions. There are instances that require this; rape, murder, abuse, etc. However, there are the less evil people trespass against us. Forgiveness does not seem like an option at that moment due to the hurt that invades our chest, heart, head, feelings, threatening to make us explode…or worse, implode.

However, my mind reels with the possibility of forgiveness, of tolerance, of overlooking the action. It has never been an easy task. I myself, have struggled with forgiving others. It is easy to hope, to pray that you have a heart that let’s go of the wrong people commit against you or your honour. But when the opportunity emerges, it becomes clear it is not that easy. Joel Osteen stated, “When we don’t forgive, we’re not hurting the other person. We’re not hurting the company that did us wrong. We’re only hurting ourselves.” You must understand, forgiveness is not just about the other person, it is about helping yourself become whole again. It is regaining control of your happiness, your life. Happiness is said to come from within and not from external sources, which only cause temporary gratification. Now, how would you have the capacity to create your own happiness if you can’t let go of grudges?
Open your heart. I know how hard it is to, trust me, I still struggle with this. Give yourself the courage to be free. Love yourself enough to know prolonged anger doesn’t serve you and must be let go.