As I told the Good News group tonight, I just got back from Disney's latest movie ("Enchanted") that connected me with so much joy and delight that I was laughing louder than any of the kids in the theater, cried twice, and at one point was literally on the edge of my seat. I was expecting a good show, but man, did Universe deliver!!The scene I wanted to share was when Gisele was provoked to anger for the first time in her fairy tale life by her McDreamy lead who has a habit of saying no. The way she handles it ... well, she's my new hero!
I watched a Byron Katie clip on You Tube that included a brief bit about anger last week. (I wish I could remember which one it was so I could post it here, but maybe someone will know it and post it in comments.)
Anyway, Katie said something along the lines of how lovely it is to be angry, which would sound ridiculous to most and probably only Katie can really get away with saying something like that. But she said something like, "You never know, this might be the last time you're ever angry - so you better enjoy it!"
And then in the movie tonight there was Gisele giddy with delight over "anger"! I mean, she comes from a fairy tale world where everything is ALL GOOD.
I often suggest to clients how boring it would be if we didn't have the ups and downs of life, and feel a complete range of emotions. That suggestion might sound kind of fabricated, but Gisele couldn't have provided a better example of its truth!
Not that I'm promoting anger .. but when we go there, let's not miss out on the deliciousness of it! Being able to appreciate it for what it is makes the ride much more enjoyable.
Thank you, Gisele!
yes yes....'tis the Yin and the Yang that creates our world. You can't have one without the other!
ReplyDeleteI love this movie too!! Saw it on Turkey Day!
I have to admit, Fairy, that when I got angry last night it didn't feel delicious. When I typed this post up, I thought "I should remember this for the next time I get angry." Which I thought would be weeks, instead it was hours.
ReplyDeleteI didn't remember to hold the thought that maybe this is the last time I get angry, so revel in it.
Instead I went to sleep and had bad dreams.
It worked a lot better in the movies. !! lol
Oh well. I'm laughing about it today, so that's good.
You're right on about the yin and yang though - I THINK, anyway. Some will argue with me saying we don't have to have the lows in order to appreciate the highs.
As long as I have lows, though, they feel better to me when I think that they help me enjoy the highs that much more.
In fact, Gregg Braden says something along those lines in his work. Which is a post I want to write up this weekend.
Thanks for the comment, friend! Much appreciated. :)
Great post Jeanette.
ReplyDeleteFor me, when I get angry I source " Everything I Really Need to Know I Learned Watching Bruce Willis Movies".
1. When you're angry, have fun with it. Make fun of the situation, or yourself or if you HAVE to the other person ... because ...
2. If you gloat too much, it always comes back to bite you on the ...
3. While it makes great film, saying witty things to enrage the other person is a bad move, especially because we heal slower than film heroes do
4. Having something to blow up, smash to pieces, set fire to, or beat the crap out of can make you feel good enough to let it go.
5. Unless it involves someone's life, the fate of a city, country or planet, walk away and have a beer. Or two.
6. Always have a cool catch phrase to close with.
I'm sure you guys could come up with some really good ones.
Yippee Ki-yay my friends
I am laughing at your manifestation Jeannette. Not that I don't feel for you going to bed mad and having bad dreams - just about what I was doing the same day.
ReplyDeleteYou made me howl with laughter when you confessed that two hours later, your anger didn't feel like the fairy tale you had been talking about. Maybe what you were actually inspired by and asking for was Gisele's passion and darling you have her beat with that one.
The great thing about being real to yourself is it gives you the freedom to laugh and deepen what you have learnt.
What I have concluded about going to bed angry is - don't. Not worth it. I thought about that forgiveness statements you gave to us awhile back and I realized I would have been way better off doing that little exercise before going to bed. A lot of times anger seems to be about attachment and I love Rick's comment, walk away and have a beer, or two.
Really if you can't let go of something, it has hold on you. It being the perception, the concept, and hello...as soon as you see that red flag you know it's that moment's choice of reality.
Love Leslie
Rick, I am laughing and smiling at this post of yours - for the humor AND wisdom it contains.
ReplyDeleteDo you know what a huge Bruce Willis fan I am?? I never thought to look to him as a model for handling anger, but what you say here makes sense!
"Cool catch phrases to close with" ... made me think about Byron Katie's "And I'm open." Open to being wrong, open to seeing it differently, open to new understanding.
I think my deal here, which I realized after reading Leslie's lovely post, was that while watching Gisele's situation, I wasn't "caught up" in her anger. It wasn't my situation, it wasn't my ego that was engaged. So I could easily go from anger to delight as a witness to what she was feeling.
But when it was hitting home - with Russ storming out of my house and then calling two hours later to continue the drama - I got hooked. I didn't have the outsider's perspective I had with Gisele. Laughter didn't feel anywhere near - at least not in that red hot moment.
What would Bruce do? Well, I think it may have been my "I'm good either way" attitude that got Russ riled up in the first place, because he interprets that as a sign that I don't care about our future. When in fact I do care, I just don't care enough to get upset about it - or show my concern by getting upset. He thinks I don't love him if I don't get upset at the thought of losing him.
And eventually I did (get upset). Leslie, you're right about not going to bed angry. It was pointless since I didn't sleep at all anyway.
So what have I learned here? That it's okay to lose the balance; that we can come back to center; that none of it's that big a deal anyway; that Bruce or Rick or Leslie might be good to check in with at moments like these; that it's all perfect - this is all unfolding to our benefit, whether we see/realize it or not (I honestly know that virtually 24/7 - that one I have down); and that law of attraction sorts things out perfectly. No need to get panties in a twist. Maybe that could be my catchphrase, huh, Rick? lol
Maybe not.
Irony is the Gateway for me.
ReplyDeleteNo matter what has pushed my buttons, if I can somehow see any kind of irony in the situation, it somehow makes it more humorous. From there I can get to a smile, and from there I can begin to feel some fun again.
Sometimes it takes channeling a movie character, which I don't find any stranger than channelling a 52 year guy from Canada, who, when he was born his parents started teaching him 'his' role:
"Your name is Ricky. Ricky is a good boy. Ricky does this and this, but never that and that otherthing."
LOL ... ranting agin.
Hasta la vista, baby.
Rock on, Rick. Though I (partly) joke that irony is the operating principle of the universe, the fact is that for me it's also perhaps the highest form of humor! This makes even the evening news entertaining. :^D Any way you look at it, turning negatives into positives is both useful and wise, certainly more useful and wise than simply ignoring them! (I can turn an angry dog friendly if it is in front of me. Behind me, it just bites my behind.)
ReplyDeleteOh, I found it! "Be angry, but do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger." - Ephesians 4:26
Ancient wisdom, man. Can't beat it. Here's a few others recent posts reminded me of:
A dog's core philosophy: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." - Philippians 4:12
Frustration with things piling on: "Things do not happen to me; things happen." - Zen saying
Whoops, hit Enter at the wrong moment. Here's the 3rd one I was going to mention:
ReplyDeleteOn focusing one's thoughts correctly: "Do not confuse the moon with the finger pointing at it." - Zen saying
Liking those quotes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, John! I can see a mutual apprecation between you and Rick in what helps you two lighten up.
ReplyDeleteTo share that here is MUCH appreciated! :)
~I can turn an angry dog friendly if it is in front of me. Behind me, it just bites my behind.~
ReplyDeleteI love this one John!
I had been wondering where all the scarring had come from.
Heh, heh. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt was actually the first time I'd found a good metaphor for that ever-present phenomenon.