In the workshop last week I was again struck by the anger held by many women. For a long time I have felt the anger we hold is a major issue for many of us. It can be anger at long past circumstances and/or anger over current issues. It can be anger over something personal or anger over someone belittling a value of ours---current politics comes to mind!
But what really strikes me is the power we give away when we hold on to the anger. It spills over into our peace. It spills into our relationship with ourselves, with others and with God. We feel powerless in the face of long held anger.
In the workshop we reviewed Desmond Tutu's process of healing from anger---always worth reviewing. We need to identify the anger---name it. We don't excuse the other person's behavior but we let go of the need for revenge. We work on understanding where the other person's behavior comes from. We give up our role of victim. When we give up our role of victim we get to "write the end of the story." I love that idea---we take back choices in how we think about the other person, in how we behave toward ourselves, toward others and within our relationship with God
Tutu has written many books on forgiveness. The one I particularly like is No Future without Forgiveness. I like the title---No Future without Forgiveness. It really seems that way. People stuck in their anger, unwilling to forgive are trapped. They go over and over and over the issue and never move into their future.
Can we begin to open our clinched fists and receive God's loving support as we pray about our issues of anger? It is God who is with us and gives us the courage to let it all be. We don't have to "let it go"---we just have to "let it be" in God's hands.
Blessings-Penny
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