“Hold onto your anger and use it as compost for your garden.”
―Thich Nhat Hanh
There’s a lot to be angry about in 2026.
Many of us (especially women) were taught that it’s not ok to express anger. For some of us (especially men), anger is one of the few emotions that is socially acceptable to express as long as it is turned outward rather than interrogated.
However, like all emotions, anger is not inherently good or bad. It serves a purpose and gives us information if we take the time to listen.
Anger is sometimes expressed in the form of violence and coercion. Sometimes it is turned inward and manifests as depression. Other times, it is metabolized and becomes “compost for your garden,” waking us up and moving us into action for the purpose of personal and collective liberation. Always, it has wisdom to share about our experience of ourselves, others, and the world.
“The solution is not to suppress our rage or let it explode, but to process our rage in safe containers-emotional spaces safe enough to express our body’s impulses without shame and without harming ourselves or others.”
-See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur
Poetry
Listen to Your Rage
Listen to your rage
and hear the ache underneath—
the excruciating gap between
“should be” and “is actually.”
Sometimes we call it grief.
Feel it in your body—
a burning, consuming flood of adrenaline
priming you for action
because “is actually”
is
actually
unbearable.
When your rage collapses,
listen for its wisdom.
Let it tell you what it wants
as you thoughtfully consider,
“What is underneath, dear one?”
Rage is the outspoken one
who often gets shoved
to the front of the group
by other emotions who would prefer
Rage to be the spokesperson.
Those other ones behind Rage
thought they were too weak,
too ordinary,
too quiet
to get your attention.
“We’re so afraid,” they might say,
or “It hurts too much to be seen,”
or “We’ve been quiet for so long,
now we might explode—
a burst of life in defiance of death,
an attempt to come off of life support.”
When you listen to your rage,
the task is to discern:
Is this the energy I needed to take action?
What boundary has been violated?
Is it a distraction from those other
tender feelings I’ve been afraid to feel?
Or is it simply a pit stop
on the road to acceptance?
Reflection Questions
- Think of a time when you felt really angry. What did it feel like in your body?
- What does your anger want you to know? What is it saying?
- How would you like to respond to whatever your anger is communicating to you?
Book Nook
Many celebrated and/or lamented the 250th birthday of the U.S. over the weekend and may be experiencing a range of emotions. The language of freedom stands in stark contrast to the oppression many are facing in and by the United States. This reality impacts us all because our individual liberation is inextricably tied to our collective liberation.
This season of remembering our country’s history and dreaming about her future is a great time to consider whose stories have informed our view of history and our nation’s identity. For every story of oppression, may we remember and honor the stories of resistance.
I’ve been working on creating book lists through Bookshop, an online site that supports independent bookstores. Today, I’m sharing a list of some of my favorite books that honor stories from U.S. history and tell the truth about both oppression and resistance. You can find the list with links here. If you have any favorites you think I should add, please let me know!
Affiliate disclosure: I joined the Bookshop affiliate program, so if you purchase anything through the links in the list, a portion of the sale will go to an independent bookstore and I may receive a small commission, at no cost to the purchaser.
An invitation:
The work of noticing, naming, expressing, and tending is part of what we do in spiritual direction. If you would like a compassionate companion for your journey of growth in freedom, healing, and flourishing, I would be honored to do this work with you. I am also available to facilitate groups. For more information on spiritual direction and/or to schedule a free introductory Zoom call, click here or email me.
Blessing
May you be a hospitable place for your anger to share its wisdom. May your anger alert you to what matters most to you and energize you to take needed action. When it subsides and other tender feelings arise, may you receive them with compassion.
Be well, friends.
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