How to Feel Angry at the State of the World Without Being Consumed

Anger can signal real concerns

The article points to war, higher living and gas costs, the concentration of wealth among the richest 1 percent of Americans, and corruption in the White House as sources of public anger. It asks how spiritual traditions might guide people responding to those concerns.

The writer argues that pretending to feel calm can be ineffective and dismissive. Rather than suppressing anger, the article suggests it may offer insight into pain and support compassionate action for justice.

Notice anger in the body

Lama Rod Owens, a Buddhist teacher in Atlanta and author of “Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger,” says people first need to recognize when anger arises. The writer describes physical signs such as a hot head, a tight stomach and tension in the throat.

Owens defines anger as mental and physical tension from which aggression can emerge. He also notes that people, particularly women and femme folks, may be gaslit about their anger, making it difficult to acknowledge.

He recommends saying “I feel angry,” rather than defining oneself as angry. Owens says this distinction can create space to consider the experience instead of treating it as an identity.

Look beneath the anger

Owens says anger need not be something to simply get over. Through meditation, he came to understand his anger as a response to deeper pain, sadness and heartbreak.

He describes people as not only angry about the world, but also hurt by it, saddened by it and grieving it. That perspective connects anger to the experiences beneath it.

Rather than pushing anger away or reacting aggressively, Owens learned to notice and name it. His Buddhist tradition treats anger as energy that can be experienced and shaped, rather than automatically acted upon.