An open letter to the angry people out there.

I have decided to stick with love.
Hate is too great a burden to bear.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

As I write this, it is the day our country celebrates the amazing Martin Luther King, Jr. I posted the above MLK quote on my personal Facebook page this afternoon, which immediately reminded me of the sheer weight that the angry people around me must feel every single day.

 

In the past seven or eight months, I have had much anger in my life. Thankfully, it hasn't been my own. But, it still scares the crap out of me and, more so, it makes me terribly sad.

 

There are so many people that are truly angry about many things. As I have found, angry people tend to be angry about everything and virtually everyone. Instead of owning their feelings, many people blame others for "making" them angry.  It is always someone else's fault.

 

That is maddening.

 

I am here today to say OWN IT ALREADY for goodness' sake! We have ALL had our share of hurts, fears, disappointments, difficult and trying times that cause anger, but no one is forced or entitled to hang on to that anger indefinitely. What angers you may not anger me, and what angers me may not anger you or to the same degree. But, we have all been there. No, life is not fair. People suck. Circumstances are never quite as we would have hoped.

 

All emotions are a normal part of understanding who we are and how we fit into our world. Emotions are a communication tool between ourselves and our surroundings. But, it is what we do with our emotions that will make us step forward, backward or keep at a stand still.

 

No one makes us do anything unless we decide to do it. No one can make you or me sad, happy, angry, or hateful. Someone can do something "to you" to cause an emotion, but you and I get to CHOOSE OUR RESPONSE to that emotion.  Pretty cool and liberating if you ask me.

 

Fear leads to Anger.
Anger leads to Hate.
Hate leads to Suffering.
Suffering leads to the dark side.
- Yoda

 

It is time to break the cycle or continue to live a miserable, angry life. Which leads to the dark side, according to Yoda, of Star Wars fame (thanks to my friend, Mike, for sharing with me!).

Trust me when I say that the view of the dark side from here is not a pretty one.

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Colossians 3:8, 12-13 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.