The Right to Be Angry

This is going to be a short, middle-of-the-week post. It was just a quick musing that I had and wanted to share.

Recently, people have made me angry. In fact, I spent lunch today ranting to a friend about how angry I was. How sick and tired I was of the things they did (or didn't) do.

It happens to me more often than I would like. In fact, I rarely think anything of it anymore. It's just something that I feel, something that causes me to glare and give the cold shoulder until it blows over and everything is back to normal. I justify this attitude. "So-and-so" won't do this, so I have the right to be angry.

What I often fail to remember is this: I may have the right to be angry, but I also have the calling to be compassionate. To choose understanding. To be loving even if that means sacrifice. In this case, the joyful sacrifice of my "right to be angry."

And "joy" is my word for the year. Discover what it means. Take it on, ingest it, let it become a part of me. I have no idea where it will lead but today was my first lesson in joyful sacrifice. It felt really amazing.

Besides, in reality, I don't mind doing the dishes. It allows time for my freshly made tea to cool, and if it means that someone feels a little bit of love, or the compassion I wish I more easily felt, then I'll do the dishes without complaint for the whole semester. It's so little a price to pay.