Ruminations: Map

When we began our Festival of Lights series on Sunday, we started with the theme of Forgiveness. Letting go of resentment helps clear the way for us to receive hope and joy in our lives and to shine hope and joy into the world around us.

The most frequent question after a conversation about forgiveness, though, is how to do it. “Yes, I know I should let go of resentment, but how do I forgive this person?” Last Sunday, we talked about changing the stories we tell as one path toward forgiveness.

In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron presents another perspective: Our anger points us in the direction we need to move. She writes:

“Anger is meant to be listened to. Anger is a voice, a shout, a plea, a demand. Anger is meant to be respected. Why? Because anger is a map. Anger shows us what our boundaries are. Anger shows us where we want to go. It lets us see where we’ve been and lets us know when we haven’t liked it. Anger points the way, not just the finger. …Anger is a sign of health.”

When I focus on what people have done to evoke my anger, I might have a difficult time forgiving them. When I consider what my anger is calling me to do, in accordance with my guiding principles, I can focus my energy in a meaningful direction—some goal or vision that can transform my resentment into something more useful and creative.

For me, the important piece of this is knowing what I want for my life and for the world around me. My personal guiding principles put boundaries on what actions I might take in response to my anger. Although my impulse may be to do something destructive when I feel angry, my guiding principles help me define more meaningful, creative actions I might take. My anger can fuel my commitment to greater wholeness and well-being in the world, if I use it wisely.

Maybe for you, it’s our Unitarian Universalist principles. Or maybe you have other clearly-defined guiding principles for your life. Your anger might be the fuel that propels you toward meaningful action, and that meaningful action might be what allows you to let go of some resentment. Like a creative map toward our vision for a better world.

And what if we shared that creative map with other people? We might find partners in nurturing the world toward wholeness. What would it look like for an entire community of people to be committed to intentionally allowing their anger to be fuel for building something better in the world? What would it be like if an entire community refused to allow resentment to poison us, but instead listened to what our anger calls us to do and be in the world?

What if… What if acting with integrity to our guiding principles is like following a map out of resentment and into greater wholeness?

Rev. Randy Partain