Anger Is Rising … And That Makes Sense

Anger is rising.

In our bodies. In the space between us. In our homes. In our communities. In our world.

It’s rising as we witness political instability, economic strain, war, displacement, injustice, and the quiet daily erosion of safety and dignity for so many people around us.

And I want to say this clearly, before anything else:

This makes sense.

Of course anger is here. Of course it’s knocking. Of course it’s loud. Of course it's unbearable….

And anger is not a flaw in our humanity … it is a protective response to threat, to harm, to witnessing what should not be happening. Think about it.

When the world feels out of control, when suffering feels relentless, when our nervous systems register danger that we cannot stop or fix, anger rises to say:

This matters.
Someone needs protecting.
This boundary has been crossed.

Anger is a justice emotion. And it is a boundary with energy. It is a voice that refuses silence in the face of harm.

The Body Knows Before the Mind

As I write this, I notice my own anger moving through me.

My jaw tightens. My eyes focus. My hands clench. There’s heat in my solar plexus. My heart beats faster. And my legs want to move. I’m standing as I type, because my body doesn’t want stillness right now.

This is important.

Anger is not just a thought — it is a full-body experience. Blood moves into our hands and feet. Muscles prepare. Breath changes. Energy mobilizes.

This is not pathology.
This is biology.

The danger comes not from anger itself, but from what we ask anger to do.

When Anger Takes the Wheel (and When It Shouldn’t)

Anger is not meant to drive the bus.

When anger is left alone, unsupported, or fueled only by fear and despair, it can grow bigger and scarier. It can turn into power over, into dehumanization, into disconnection … even from the very values it rose to protect.

But when anger is held, nourished, and guided, it becomes something else. It becomes:

• clarity

• courage

• discernment

• resolve

• action rooted in values

Anger says no, but it can also point us toward a meaningful yes.

What We Can Do (Even When We Can’t Fix Everything)

There are many things we cannot control. There are horrors we cannot stop alone. There are systems larger than any one body or family.

And still — we are not powerless. Here is what is available to us:

1. Tend to the Nervous System (This Is Not Selfish)

Taking in moments of goodness does not mean bypassing reality, it means building capacity.

A warm drink. A child’s laugh. A tree outside your window. A moment of breath where your shoulders soften. A pet.

These moments help your system remember:

I am here.
I am resourced.
I can stay open.

This is what allows anger to stay clean instead of corrosive.

2. Reach for Support (We Were Never Meant to Do This Alone)

Anger needs witnesses. Friends who can listen without fixing. Communities that remind us we’re not imagining things. Spaces where grief, rage, and love can coexist.

Support doesn’t make us weak … it keeps us human.

3. Let Anger Move You Toward What You Can Touch

Anger has energy. Energy wants direction. That might look like:

• supporting organizations doing justice work

• donating, volunteering, amplifying voices

• joining movements aligned with your values

• staying open to the stories of others

• learning instead of hardening

• raising children who don’t need power over others to feel worthy

• creating peaceful homes where anger is felt with respect, not fear

Anger doesn’t need to be explosive to be effective. It needs purpose and containment. It needs to be heard.

Parenting in a World Like This

Many of us are holding all of this while raising children. And I feel this deeply. I want to raise my children to be: kind and discerning, compassionate and boundaried, respectful of difference, grounded in the truth that every human being is worthy

Worthiness is not conditional.
Not on gender.
Not on race.
Not on class.
Not on origin.
Not on belief.

And when our children see us befriend our anger instead of suppressing or outsourcing it, they learn something essential:

That strong feelings can coexist with humanity.
That justice doesn’t require cruelty.
That boundaries don’t require domination.

This is how generational change happens …. honestly, not perfectly.

Anger Belongs Here … With Guidance

Anger belongs in our lives. It belongs as a signal, As a message. As a protector. As a boundary. As a call to conscience.

AND it also needs:

• gentle awarenss

• relationship

• values

• care

When we meet anger this way, it doesn’t shrink us.

It steadies us.

And from that steadiness, we can keep showing up — for ourselves, for our children, and for a world that desperately needs people who can feel deeply without losing their humanity.

If this stirred something in you, pause.

Maybe place one hand on your heart. Take one slow breath.

Notice where anger lives in your body today. You don’t have to change it. Just notice.