When I was a senior in college I rented an apartment off campus with my friend Rose. It was a funky one bedroom with a lot of windows and a fireplace in the living room. I loved that space. We had many adventures. And whenever things got rough, we would have a glass or two of wine, and then throw the glasses in the fireplace. Watching them shatter was supremely satisfying, and wine glasses are cheap to replace.
These days I exercise to deal with the stresses and angers of life. Or call sympathetic friends. I try not to break things too often because I don’t want to clean it up. But I think everyone needs to be intentional about healthy ways to deal with our anger. There is a lot in this world to be frustrated about.
When I saw the pictures of the children who died in the Nashville shooting, my anger was back in full force. It defies reason that we can’t agree on practical and reasonable gun control, that we find any value in assault weapons, and that we worship an amendment rather than protect what was created in God’s image. I don’t understand and it makes me very angry.
And because this killing of our children happens like clockwork, it is hard to move past it. We are stuck in grief and horror so that we cannot move on. And the anger that comes from that runs deep in our souls. There are not enough wine glasses or exercise machines for that level of fury and fear.
I am not sure what I can do to make things better. Being stuck in anger is not a healthy thing, and to ignore reality is socially irresponsible. So we are somewhere in the middle with constant jabs into an already open wound, and seemingly no hope it will get better. Our only strategy seems to be to speak the truth when we can, encourage progress when it seems possible, and let our energy fuel a desire to keep working for peace, reconciliation, and a world that doesn’t solve it’s problems with violence. We resolve that this is a lifetime of work, we are all responsible, and we have to be peace if we want peace.
So I get on the treadmill every day and do my own work so that I can work for others. That has to be enough for now.