Day 1

I have a client who’s a teenager.

I don’t usually work with teenagers,
but I’ve worked with his mother and she asked.
And it felt right to say yes.

He’s a lot like me when I was his age.
And I’m who I needed when I was his age.

He gets angry.
I asked him what’s underneath.
He said sadness.

He’s wiser than I was.
Then again, no one ever asked me that question.

Anger is sadness unallowed.

I was in a men’s group once.
Another guy was angry.
He was allowed to yell and curse and clench his fists.
It lasted about a minute and a half.
And then he sobbed.
And sobbed.
And sobbed.

When people are angry, they’re really hurt and sad.
And what a world we would live in if they were able to know that,
and express that.

What a world we will live in,
when anger is allowed to be sad,
and sadness is allowed to be cried.