Do Not Be A Sponge For Anger

                                       

"There is no satisfaction that can compare with looking back

across the years and finding you've grown in self-control,

judgment, generosity, and unselfishness."

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

When younger,  I self-appraised my lovely self, and realized all forms of anger were avoided or denied.  I would own the situation and accept responsibility for it so I would not have to yell harsh words.  

Even as I grew older, my tolerance for displays of anger were unacceptable.  I would walk into another room, leave entirely, or find another way to numb myself against the rising tension and violence.  My belly became a hot and roiling pit of black tar.

Eventually, I also coined healthier responses to anger that did not impact my own emotional makeup.  "I can see that you are upset now ...." or  "Perhaps when you are calmer ..."  I have experienced people who do not want you to fix them, but rather to listen. I have witnessed the importance of being the innocent by stander who exerts personal control, no judgment, and a heart filled with compassion.  

Carry Your Holiday Light ...



               When Christmas bells are swinging

                above the fields of snow,

              We hear sweet voices ringing

                from lands of long ago,

               And etched on vacant places

                 are half-forgotten faces

                Of friends we used to cherish,

                    and loves we used to know.

"Christmas Fancies" - Poems of Power 

               - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Christmas songs, candles, and merriment frequently carry us down memory lane.  We recall friends who may be challenged by health issues or who may have transitioned through death.  Old childhood or neighborhood friends may come to mind.  Co-workers we promised to stay in touch with may have gently drifted away or life long friends may have discontinued contact.

Holidays can be filled with laughter as well as longing.  We miss what once was familiar and wonder if life will ever be the same.  No matter how satisfying our current relationships may be, remnants of lost love may still hang like cobwebs in the darkened hallways of our minds.

This year, when we raise our glass with a toast for the new year, will our glass be half-full or half-empty?  Will we be looking through the distorted lenses of illusion or through the colorful spectrum of creativity and imagination? 

Our lives become the product of our focus.  Embrace the possibility of dreams and untangle the fingers of fear.  Anticipate all that is positive and wise.  Carry your holiday light into your darkness, so there will be light forever more.