Anger
Anger is the wind that blows out the lamp of the mind.
Ever been angry? Dumb question I know. Imagine a puppy pulls out in front of you in traffic and you slam on the brakes, this is what anger is like. Anger is a physiological form of pulsating arousal that causes our breathing to quicken, eyes to focus intensely and our hearing to become singular. What does all this mean? It means you turn into a giant hammer looking for the nail. Bad news for you if you yourself are the nail. Anger turned inward becomes depression, anger turned outward becomes rage. In all of these episodes, you lose your mind because of your body trying to regulate itself. Simply put we get into a state of fight or flight. Sadly some of us are stuck in fight or flight everyday. Should we get angry? Of course we can get angry, we must learn where to direct the hammer in a healthy way to keep ourselves from hurting ourselves and those around us.
Application:
What is one thing you can do the direct the hammer toward a healthy place that will not harm yourself or another?
Darkness
It feels like a wet blanket on a humid day.
It smells like a wet dog.
It feels like a rock in your shoe.
It looks like a beautiful blue sky day turned gray.
It leaks.
It creeps through the windows of your heart.
It is like water over a sandcastle.
It is suffocating.
It is constant.
It is inside me.
It is darkness.
Application:
Have you ever felt like this? Draw a picture for no one to see that describes what this felt like.
Kill the cul-de-sac
Cul-de-sacs stunt growth.
To kill the cul-de-sac you have to go back to the beginning to start again.
Sometimes reverse is progress.
Cul-de-sacs frustrate the one driving and makes passengers car sick.
Cul-de-sacs exist so you will not stay there.
Choose to exit the cul-de-sac the way you came in and get back on the road of life.
Application:
Have you ever experienced the round and round experience of a cul-de-sac? I see this most often in workplaces where people are frustrated by the exact same problems everyday. Relationships are a breeding ground for cul-de-sacs as well. Share a time when you were caught in a cul-de-sac and explain how you got out.
Dave Scott 