When Anger Overflows

Just like the flow of water, what if the anger we feel could be redirected?

We all understand how increasing the flow of water while cleaning something can end up soaking everything around it instead. When water is kept just under normal pressure, the things that need to be cleaned are cleaned efficiently without creating a mess. But when the pressure is increased too much, the water splashes everywhere, even onto one’s own clothes.

Photo by Andres Siimon on Unsplash

This pattern can also be seen in anger. When a person becomes angry and starts screaming, they often fail to realise that they are the ones getting tired in the process, creating a scene, whether in public or in private, as though the problem might be suddenly understood better if it is shouted. The more intense the reaction, the more energy is wasted, and the less the problem is actually resolved.

The lesser the reaction, the more efficiently the problem can be addressed.

Like water, anger in the body is ready to flow in any direction it is guided towards. If it is not directed consciously, it may be redirected, unknowingly hurting someone’s feelings or affecting people who had nothing to do with the situation. Someone else may get “wet” without ever understanding why.

That is why it is important to sit with one’s feelings and attempt to understand anger instead of bursting out like water waiting to be released through a pipe. Anger is not something that needs to be eliminated, but something that needs to be understood before it is expressed.