Hate is not the opposite of love. It is fear that is the opposite of love with the antidote being the journey to finding courage. Hate is a side effect of fear. It is the minds default coping mechanism for being frightened. Hate treats the uncomfortable symptom, not the source. Hate requires soul healing and is probably the biggest chunk of soul work one can do in a lifetime. I say this as I witness so much random hating as a normal response to experience.
I'm no psychological scholar by any stretch but it has been my personal experience that most times when I am angry it is because some fear has been triggered deep within me. To have a fear of feeling anger itself is a serious clusterfuck, indeed. That is polarizing. I've been there, too. Yet there is another kind of anger that nests within the belly of the human beast. It is not centered in fear and hatred; it is seeded in courage and it is HERE that we get into a real conundrum with action. At least, I do. I'm triggered usually over injustice, victimization, wanton waste and destruction for personal satisfaction. Where am I in this long list of these things that are the consequence of others poor choices that anger me and motivate an unconditioned response within me that rises from a sense of service? It is a warrior energy of transformation. This anger can be tapped to move us forward and on to meeting radical and sometimes violent challenges that are difficult and create non violent resistance. This response is, however, a discipline. It must be taught.
Anger is a satiation point that galvanizes and it requires sound judgement and understanding to navigate and to use it properly. Hafiz is not a proponent of avoiding feelings of anger but he is warning here that anger is powerful and if not navigated wisely it can sink the ship.
Thank you for listening.
https://pixabay.com/music/world-muslim-13410/
Music: This song, Why, by Annie Lennox came to mind while I was writing this. It could be a song about many different things, even the inner dialogue of anyone who is wrestling with their demons trying to rationalize away their unreasonable, passionate feelings. Our minds are not given to respect what we feel beyond alarm. Our minds are programed through millennia to protect us from danger and discomfort. This is why so much of what we experience in life is cautionary and bent on galvanizing our fears. It is my work to alchemize my feelings of anger into passionate, progressive action.
I may be mad
I may be blind
I may be viciously unkind
But I can still read what you're thinking
And I've heard is said too many times
That you'd be better off
Besides...
Why can't you see this boat is sinking
The original post in this series of poems by Hafiz (including an addendum regarding the authenticity of these poems) can be found here. Also, my thoughts on this series a year into these poems, HERE.
The Gift: Poems by Hafiz and translated by Daniel Ladinsky can be purchased here.
My book can be purchased HERE. E-book HERE. My reading of the book excerpts in a mixed media format is Season Two of this blog. These recorded excerpts are outside the chronological order in which the book was written. The Season Two blogcasts with audio excerpts from my book begin HERE: in Behind The Lines . Podcasts with audio only beginning with episode 22 can be found HERE.