Boundary Dance

When anger shows up, it signals that someone has invaded your physical or psychological space, perhaps unconsciously, perhaps with the intention to control or take advantage of you. Either way, the surge of energy that accompanies this emotion helps you stand your ground when someone …pushes your boundaries.

 

It takes courage and awareness to use anger judiciously. You must be willing to tell someone to back off when he or she steps over the line, even if this person has “higher status” than you–because the more quickly you face this minor discomfort, the less likely you are to take it out on someone else. The trick is to differentiate anger from frustration.

 

The two emotions feel similar, and they both can escalate into rage, but frustration carries a different message. Frustration means that you’re employing a technique in work or life or an influence in a relationship with another being that simply isn’t effective. Rather than look for alternatives or ask for help, you’re trying to force a breakthrough using familiar methods that, while they may have worked in the past, currently produce little or no result.

 

Ask yourself: Where is the block? What can I do differently, or who can I ask for assistance. Recognizing the difference between anger and frustration is powerful and aids in recognizing our own power when someone invades it or when someone or something is simply ticking us off because it is not going the way we think it should. Way of the Horse Oracles