How I Moved From Anger to Gratitude

This morning I received a text from someone close to me that left me feeling infuriated. At first when I received the message I was not surprised and did not react- I was not angry. It didn’t bother me, because I knew at the end of the day, this person’s behavior and words had nothing to do with me- I had also even expected it..

But as the morning went on, I kept thinking about if/how to respond to this person, and the anger started to ignite. I kept flowing between all the things I want to say to this person, anger arising, and coming back to my center.

I decided to go sit in my room and really be present with all that was happening. I did a practice to release some anger, then sat back, relaxed my mind, and started to come into my body. I felt several points of tension- in my neck, my shoulder, in between my chest and my armpit, under my armpit.. and I started rubbing into these painful areas, until eventually I felt the tears starting to roll down my face.

After I released a bit, the clarity came. All morning I had been asking myself the question I learned from a Kabbalah class,

“Why is this person in my movie?” Or in other words, “What role is this person playing in my life?” What is this person here to show me about myself?

Initially I thought my anger was at this person.

But eventually after I released what I needed to release, the clarity came-

I was not angry at this person, I was angry at myself for feeling incapable of responding to this person in the way I wanted to respond to him/her.

For not being able to communicate in that moment, leaving me feeling powerless.

Powerlessness…

That was the real feeling that was laying underneath the surface of it all. Underneath the anger.

And after I released the emotion from my body and arrived at this clarity, I felt fully in my center, and fully capable of responding to this person from a place of power, and even thanking them for the role that they played for me.

I didn’t feel anger anymore, I felt grateful.

Every single person in our lives is there for a reason and serves a purpose.. No one is an accident. The people that push our buttons and our triggers are actually doing us a favor by showing us where are “correction” lies in this life; where can can better ourselves.

When we are able to transmute our pain into gratitude, we become empowered, and are no longer a prisoner of our past, but a pioneer of our future, as Deepak Chopra likes to say.

Without these people in our lives, we would not have the opportunity to grow.

I am so grateful for this person and the role this person plays in my life- for helping me step into my true power- the ability to respond from a place of love and gratitude rather than react from a place of lack.

It feels so freeing, and so beautiful🙏🏻🤍✨