We live in a time where outrage has become a virtue. “Calling out” people we disagree with gets more applause than inviting them into dialogue. On a daily basis, the news stream feeds us information that sparks our ire or stirs our disgust. Algorithms and political leaders alike ensure our emotions stay at a reactive fever pitch.
We also live in a culture where emotions are not processed well, if at all. We’ve been taught that certain feelings are acceptable, and others are not. In the absence of any kind of relationship with our inner world, or any skills for processing what we experience, reactivity rules the day.
Outrage is a form of anger, which is one of the emotions that is often considered unacceptable. The less power a person has in a situation, the less their anger is considered to be reasonable or worth attending to. Outrage, on the other hand, seems to have gained a level of admiration that anger has not.
The truth is that all of our emotions are valuable. Every feeling we experience is important, and worth our attention.
Anger is connected to our life force. It is what we feel when something we value has been disregarded or demeaned. Our first impulse when we feel anger is to blame an external source for the feeling, and this is where outrage is born. As long as I am giving someone or something else credit for my anger, I am not hearing the wisdom it wants to bring me.
Anger always wants to move me to action, either on my own behalf or on behalf of another. Discerning this right action always begins with turning inward to attend to what matters to me. What is it that I value that has been disregarded or demeaned in this situation? What needs my wise, caring action?
The important thing is that I listen inwardly for what that value is. As I sit with it, and notice the other feelings that arise in me, I begin to sense my inner wisdom moving me toward some form of action. The action may begin with tending my own sadness at the dishonouring of what I value, then grow outward into a knowing of what my right action is on behalf of others.
Perhaps the value that has been violated has to do with my own voice, my own care, my own worth. As I listen inwardly, I tend my own hurt, and perhaps some shame, and as I continue to connect with my inner wisdom, I feel the courage in me growing so that I can then speak out on my own behalf.
This is not an easy process. The emotions are uncomfortable, and tending them is unfamiliar and difficult work. Because anger always wants to move us in to action, it is really easy to use reactivity as a way of discharging the discomfort so we don’t have to do the difficult work of tending our inner space.
This is where outrage often takes us. We see or hear something that contradicts our values, and we instantly speak out against it. The movement of outrage is always toward the external, and is always about blame. It also immediately distances me from other. It sets up an instant dichotomy so other is wrong and I am right, and there is no curiosity between us.
Outrrage makes us feel like we are accomplishing something, that we are taking a stand However, it is always reactive energy. It is always about what I’m against, rather than what I want to see grow in the world around me.
This is not to say that outrage is wrong or bad. As with every emotion, it has a message to bring us, if we’re willing to attend. This requires that I endure the discomfort of its intensity, without discharging it outward.
Rather than focussing on the event or situation which has sparked my outrage, I turn my attention inward. What is it that matters to me that has been disregarded or demeaned or even threatened? What other feelings am I experiencing around this? Why does my heart need for care and for tenderness in this moment?
Outrage also invites me to gently inquire into where I am unwilling to acknowledge my own tendency to act in the very manner that I’m reacting against. This takes both courage and humility. While I may not be actively involved in arresting immigrants, my reaction against those who do beckons me into awareness of where I am prone to place another in the category of “other” who is not deserving of my care. Perhaps it points me to a part of myself that I try to exile from my own attention.
As I ask myself these questions, and listen for the responses from my own heart, my reactivity diminishes and I am then able to hear from my inner wisdom what is mine to do. The actions I then take are a reflection of my light into the world, an expression of my inner truth. They are creative rather than reactive.
I believe creativity is the antidote to outrage. Both are expressions of my life force, but where outrage attacks and destroys, creativity offers nourishment and hope. It takes creativity to speak up on behalf of the marginalized in a way that does no harm to myself or another. It takes creativity to recognize when and how I need to use my voice on my own behalf.
Outrage is about what I see as being wrong in the world and in the people around me. Creativity is about the vision I hold for what our wold, our communities and my own life could be.
Outrage feels energizing, but it is not sustainable. If we continuously follow its lead, we find ourselves exhausted, then depleted into apathy. We lose connection with our life force, and with our inner wisdom.
Creativity is slower, and quieter. In the tending of it, we find ourselves renewed and energized for the work that is ours to do. It keeps us connected to the cycles of rest and action which are necessary for our soul care.
Outrage can serve as our reminder of what matters to us, and of the importance of taking action. If we choose to listen to it, rather than instantly discharge its energy, it can reconnect us with our creative wellspring. From this place, what we offer into the world is hopeful, restorative and generative.
Leave a Reply