Compassion for Your Anger

I’ve been practicing Metta aka lovingkindness meditation for years, and still sometimes I get so frustrated and angry—at the world, at dear ones, or just when things don’t go as planned. For a long time, I felt so disappointed and discouraged because I thought that a meditator and a Buddhist shouldn’t have those feelings. Then I discovered Thich Nhat Hanh’s instruction, “I see you anger, and I’m not going to leave you,” and realized that anger—and all our feelings—deserves attention and compassion and kindness. I don’t have to act out of anger, or make decisions when I’m frustrated, but I’ve learned that to befriend my angry feelings lessens their energy and power, and allows me to feel understood and cared for instead of guilty and ashamed.