16-May / 0 COMMENTS

I’m angry! Gahrrrr!  I feel stuck!  I’m frustrated and I.Want. Freedom!

 

There! I feel better.

 

Giving voice to my feelings, expressing it out loud even to myself allows the release that I’d not permitted myself, so practiced am I with holding in and containing all within.

 

Spring is associated with Wood energy in five element acupuncture, the energy that reflects upward and outward movement in life. Its corresponding color and sound are green and shout! This can be observed in nature with the green shoots of spring flowering bulbs as they emerge from the ground, then blooming open with their burst of colors. It is as if  they waited all winter,  planning and strategizing, biding their time and at the opportune moment, decisively and assertively, they spring up and out!

 

Imagine yourself rising up, like the daffodils, ready to put into motion your plans, your actions so your dreams can bloom. Or maybe not… because instead of seeing a clear path ahead of you and the next step made clear, you see obstacles or distractions. Or excuses.  Even as you navigate through and propel yourself towards your goal, you feel lacking in growth and possibility. Your flexibility and adaptability are exhausted with all the maneuvering and navigating, making you impatient and angry!

 

Our culture is anti-anger. We feel it is something to be controlled and managed. For many,  that means suppressing, denying, or stuffing it or as popular saying would have us believe, suck it up.  So we hold in our anger and frustration denying ourselves appropriate expression. And we do.  The cruelty of this holding in business, however, manifests in physical symptoms as well as emotional.  Maybe they show up as frequent migraine headaches, the clenched jaws or grinding of our teeth in sleep resulting in TMJ or locked jaw?  Unexpected bursts of irritability misdirected at our loved ones? Prolonged sense of despair after a small set back? Maybe we rely one drink too much to cut the edge?

 

Hope springs eternal… all is not lost.

 

Even when the night of darkness seems to go on and on, the promise of morning comes at dawn with its brilliant light.  All that we suffered could serve as gifts as we turn to the virtues associated with spring in five element theory: benevolence, forgiveness, redemption, creativity, hope.  Could you practice benevolence toward yourself and forgive the impatience in yourself and with others?  For each sense of fail, could you find the lesson and find a creative solution for the next attempt? Could you let go of expectations and let hope grow?

We begin with a simple admission of truth: I am angry.  I am stuck.  I want to find a way out. Help me.