Taking Anger Out For a Spin

Well, it happens.  Anger, that is.  For me, I find that anger can come up when I least expect it.  Most of the time it feels totally justified.  And other times, even as I feel the anger, I wonder why it’s there.  What exactly is being triggered that has me feel anger in this particular situation.

One of the interesting things about anger — or at least, my anger (I don’t know if this is true for anyone else) — is that I can feel a simultaneous sense of fear when it arises.  The fear feels a little like fear of judgment — will I be judged badly for feeling angry.  Will someone think I’m petty for being angry about this?  Does this anger make me an irrational person?  Lots of self-deprecating stuff, admittedly.

As I realize this juxtaposition this morning, I’m curious about what would happen if I stepped past the fear a little, even in the face of anger, and just allowed the anger to be what it is.  What if it doesn’t have to be a big ugly thing, so much as a real emotion?  What would be possible if I could just name the anger and acknowledge it, then move on?  Because right now what I often do, is try to ignore it, or defend it.  Neither of which really serves — it sort of just keeps me in it.  I have a feeling that naming it would actually have it dissipate sooner.  Way sooner.

Bottom-line:  anger happens.  And when it does I could dance around it — that’s what I’ve done for a good part of my life.  Or, I could start to dance WITH it, take it out for a spin, and then let it go.  Methinks that’s a better option.  Dancing with someone or something is always more fun that dancing around it.  Time to get your groove on…

The Holiday Dance: Hustle, Waltz or Quickstep?

While it’s accurate to say that the holidays are fast approaching, it’s equally accurate to say that the “holiday season” is upon us.  That’s right, it is here and we as a collective are smack dab in the middle of all that it entails.

For some, the arrival of the holiday season brings with it a whack of excitement, anticipation and joy.  For others, it’s a sure-fire source of angst and turmoil — blood pressure levels start skyrocketing and muscles take on a whole new level of tension.  Using a dance metaphor (because I love metaphors and I love dancing) I feel that I can confidently say the holiday season has different people dancing to different tunes, and whether or not they include christmas carols is absolutely a moot point.

You see, the holiday season brings with it a very specific rhythm, a beat that is different from any other time of the year.  What’s interesting is that the beat is entirely open to interpretation.  As a result, while some hear soft, fluid melody, others hear syncopation and a backbeat.  Nothing wrong with either — and it does mean that people are going to dance through the season differently.  After all, it’s hard to do a jitterbug, if the music you’re hearing is a paso doble (can you tell I’m a Dancing With the Stars fan?).  The beauty is that you can actually determine what beat you’ll hear, what dance you’d like to do.  All that’s required is a conscious choice on your part.

So, let me ask you:  when you think of the holidays, is it your preference to dance your way through doing a waltz?  Or are you more of a quickstepper?  Maybe a jive?  Know that there is nothing wrong with any of the dance styles you might choose.  The only challenge is that if you don’t consciously determine what holiday dance you’re doing, you will end up being dragged onto the dance floor to engage in some sort of movement that you’d rather not do.

Bottom-line:  decide here and now, the essence of the holiday dance you’d like to create.  Once you’ve made your decision, hold this in your consciousness and make every experience align with your choice.  That way, once the holidays are over, you’ll be able to say with confidence and recall with certainty that you had the holiday dance you wanted.

Dancing With a Million Ideas (More or Less)

It’s an interesting phenomenon that I’m experiencing.  Last week, I made a commitment to be open to the invitations of the universe and respond to said invitations without hesitation.  My objective here is to build some momentum based on creative, inspired energy.  What I didn’t bargain on was the myriad of ideas and invitations that would come my way.  Honestly, it’s as though every waking moment is filled with idea after idea after idea.  It could almost stop me in my tracks!

I haven’t allowed that to happen, however, because I’m aware that my commitment is to moving forward.  That’s what “responding to the invitations of the universe” means for me — moving forward on the path of my destiny without hesitation.  What I’ve had to learn (or, perhaps it’s “re-learn”),  however, is that even while there are many ideas coming my way, I don’t have to dance with them all at the same time.  If I pick one to engage with – any one at all – the others will keep circulating until I feel ready to dance with them.  That is, if they really want to dance in the first place.

In other words, I don’t have to be overwhelmed by the myriad of ideas and invitations.  I don’t have to fear that they’ll disappear and I’ll miss my chance.  Instead, I can totally trust that the really great ideas that want my attention will stick around while I give another great idea my attention; essentially, great ideas will wait their turn and I can just latch on to one and go with it for now.  The not-so-great ideas will fizzle into the background sooner rather than later, whether I give them my attention or not.

Bottom-line:  dancing with a million ideas — at least in the context of living life — means following one partner at a time, trusting that the others will be waiting when I’m done.  In the great dance of life, I don’t have to fear missing out on anything.  The ideas that want my attention will stick around.  It’s all good.