Dear Jack:

Although it is true most of the time that “When your anger is Up, your IQ is Down”- that it is not a good time to take action, most of the time, when one is distressed with anger, rage- or fear- there is a very VALID message in the anger every single time we feel it. It is about figuring out what the message is.

In emergency situations, when harm is being done- it is time to act, like Chris did- I admire very much protecting that child any way possible at the very moment. In other situations, it is better to calm first so to figure out the message and the best course of action.

Anger is an Action Motivator and it requires some action, some change in the way things are.

Turning the other cheek concept when angry is nice advice for saints (but do saints need advice?) but disastrous to humans. Anger means we are motivated to fight- fight for us, for something we value.

Feeling angry when offended by another means we value ourselves, otherwise we wouldn’t be feeling angry. There is a message. So instead of condemning anger as an indication we are bad people for feeling it, seeing the message is a totally different ball game. We are not bad for feeling angry, we are valuable in our OWN minds. What a powerful message if seen, isn’t it?

anita