Monster Ideas - Anger

When I agreed to start my first step with my sponsor he gave me 11 pages on anger. I asked him "What does anger have to do with my wanting to stop drinking?" He laughed and told me to read the pages and then get back to him. After I read the pages, a light bulb went off in my head. When I see things more clearly I call them Monster Ideas. Here are snippets on anger from the 11 pages that he gave me to read.

Many of us express anger much more easily than tenderness

When we are on our own, we are at our worst

Perhaps, I learned anger from others

Anger may have been more acceptable in our families than fear or grief

Children desperately need to know there are ways of controlling anger

Some angers can't be resolved; some partnerships dissolve when they yield more rage than pleasure

Sometimes we cannot punish the person we are angry with so we take it out on an innocent bystanders

Anger driven inward will result in some destructive form

For many of us, anger was the only way to break an unhealthy bondage or connection with a family member

We can accept, even thank, our anger for protecting us

Hatred is the result of not accepting the world

A quiet, composed response to an enraged attack can "take the winds out of the sails" of the attacker like so much magic. What can I possibly lose by trying?

I cannot punish anyone without punishing myself

Well-timed silence can give me command of the situation as angry reproaches never can

Patience can be acquired by learning to let go of self-will

When I am angry, I am no good to anyone, least of all myself

Taking responsibility for my anger, by admitting it, is the first step toward a return to sanity and balance