Uncovering the spokes of anger... I was recently part of a workshop on cultivating curiosity, and thriving in challenging situations related to caregiving.

I appreciated the discussion on Anger Umbrella, a way to conceptualize and understand the process of angry emotions. Our facilitator Deborah Braun talked about the spoke of an anger umbrella as being those uncomfortable emotions such as:

Embarrassment, feeling undervalued, confused, afraid.... and many more possibilities. When an interaction or situation stirs up those kind of emotions, they lead us to jab someone with anger. The anger is a reaction to deeper human feelings that are uncomfortable so they are often difficult to sit with.

Another key point that raised my awareness: Anger is a sign that we are needing to make a boundary in order to respect ourselves.

In my words, an angry moment is also an opportunity to honour our needs in some way, and to check in with how we're feeling about a situation or relationship.

So in this regard, anger can inform us of what may need our attention, energy, lovingkindness.

Thank you everyone, for an evening of honest sharing, encouragement and strengthening our emotional tool kit.

There are no wrong turns, only unexpected paths.
-Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening