I’ve spent too much of my life worrying about other people’s anger.
When I was a child and in the hospital dealing with heart problems, other people’s anger seemed very dangerous, so I practiced being a perfect and lovable patient.
Old habits die hard, but at this point in my life I know I can survive other people’s anger and that I can’t please everybody.
I even wrote a song called “Other People’s Anger.”
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I don’t know whether “Other People’s Anger” or my other original songs are good enough to share on Spotify yet. I’ll be talking to my show biz coach, Jeff Leisawitz — who helped me overcome writer’s block and write songs including “Other People’s Anger” — this week about that.
Yesterday I met my beloved ex-sister-in-law Deborah at the fabulous Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown, and we discussed our own anger about how narcissistic leaders’ anger and greed are wreaking destruction world wide. I told her that I’m working on a sign which I’ll bring to join in with other people’s anger at protests next Saturday.
Do you see other people’s anger in my other images for today? If you do, do you care? I don’t!
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Thanks to all who are here for this other-people’s-anger post, including YOU!
You know how to handle it, Ann.
I remember having to deal with a situation during a party I was having, when one guest accused other guests of something and a fight was threatening to break out. I managed to calm the situation by talking to each side, one at a time (I was never threatened), and finally had it under control, when my boyfriend at the time got angry himself and tried to throw them all out, yelling something about assholes. That ended up with one of my favorite lamps being broken and a window in the storm door smashed. When I told him he’d been an idiot, he claimed he had been “defending his home.” Sigh.
Question: Do men as a rule find it difficult to back away from expressing anger?
It occurs to me that I didn’t handle his anger very well. Double sigh.
You’re doing the best you can.
When I worked in customer service I often had to deal with other people’s anger. It was frustrating when I couldn’t do anything to help. Even though I get angry with customer service people sometimes I keep that in mind: it’s not fair to be angry with anyone over something that’s not their fault and that they can’t fix.
Wise and compassionate words, Chris, and I could never get angry at you.