What are your eyes watching?

Whom are you paying close attention?

What is filling your thoughts, which is then filling your body with the anger you hold?

Can you attach a name, event, or decision to the anger?

As you search for who or what to blame, what has the anger taught you about yourself? Anything useful and constructive?

What are your patterned behaviors you most often find yourself circling within repeatedly when you experience the emotion of anger or anger’s relatives: “annoyance, irritation, bitterness, exasperation, frustration, resentment, aggravation, indignation, fury, and rage are just some of the labels given to various intensities of anger, each one offering a different level of protection” (Cannon, 2011, p.8)?

Now do me a solid one, breathe with me.

Deep breath in… Hold all of that anger inside of you as if it was fire, that if released out of your mouth, everything around you would go up in a blaze. Hold that fire in as it burns away the self-torment you obstruct onto yourself when you fill your eyes with visions that stress your temples, when you position your body in atmospheres that do not breed peace & love & forgiveness & accountability & compassion & stewardship & grace & integrity & acceptance & understanding & truth & again, more love.

Now release the breath from your mouth slowly as if your fire is melting glaciers of ice policing your heart. Blow the fire softly from your lips and feel your heart melting away the ice picks that inhibited you from feeling the warmth in a “Hello.”

You may want to take in one more huge deep breath just for the road to allow your mind to calm and your thoughts to slow down from the day-to-day racing. If you courageously take another deep breath with me, open your palms this time – palms up and sit straight up in a seated position. Fix your thoughts on compassion for yourself, peace for your body from the anger your body has held. Allow your face to loosen and smile. Release love from your own body. Feel the clarity of thought. Smile in gratitude.

Today is the last day of the 3^rd Quarter in 2020. We will no longer have the opportunity to experience September 30, 2020 after 11:59pm. So, if you are reading this post after noon, what is one goal you still have time to accomplish? Who can you say, “thank you” to, or “I miss your face”? The clock is ticking. Oh, do not forget, “I’m sorry.”

Referenced book: Cannon, M. (2011). 7 Steps to uncover the meaning of anger and gain awareness, true strength, and peace: The gift of anger. New Harbinger Publications: Oakland, CA.

The Declaration of 2020

First Quarter:

Thank you January and February for the illness I experienced from the viruses. My body is resilient, healed, and whole.

Thank you March for the time you gave. Families are closer. Responsibilities have shifted to essential priorities. Creativity has sparked purpose in people. Fear hovered in attempt to steal people’s purpose, dreams, and faith but love stood up through community and held onto hope.

Second Quarter:

April, May, and June, thank you for beautiful weather. The weather made the tough transitions easier to bear. The Land was soiled and plowed. The Sun was ever glowing consistently. The Moon was close and bright. Essential workers were working and practicing compassion diligently before the world. Opportunities were seized and lives were enriched. Thank you for the transitions we experienced: New Life: babies, change of beliefs, new adventures, new relationships, new foods, awareness; Death: death of toxic relationships, death of loved-ones, death of spewing fire from our mouth, death of lies.

Third Quarter:

July – You were HOT! August and September – You held onto the heat until the final hour. Thank you for the newfound awareness of what a “new normal” can look like. Although routines create contentment and illusive trust in some cases, we were able to remove some of the anxiety and enjoy living again but with intention.

Fourth Quarter:

I surrender my agenda to you. I am open to what you have for me. I yield with a clean plate, a fresh piece of paper in the notebook ready to write as the pen leads. I declare a fruitful harvest, for October is Harvest Time! November, we will prepare to feast for the next two months from our harvest. December, we will continue to express gratitude and love and forgiveness and compassion and truth and more love. 2020 – Thank you for the awareness that control is fleeting.