The Man Who Is Angered By Nothing Loves Nothing

"Love implies anger. The man who is angered by nothing cares about nothing."

Edward Abbey

This quote has been on my mind a lot as of late. I have been repeating it over and over as a personal mantra for many days. I look at all the things I value most in my life and those are the things I try and fight for the hardest to stay the same. I try and realize if I am stirred to anger than that means I still care, because I am still feeling strong emotions. Right? I think if I ever get to the point where I no longer care, then I will just be whatever about it. If these things I once was very emotional over no longer affect me then what does that say about my feelings on the matter? This is an important guiding stick for me, and it has not failed me yet. I just wonder if the concept of love implying anger is correct, or is this something a rageaholic says to make himself feel better about his actions?

It seems to me the things in my life I care for the most will always stir me to anger if things are not going as planned or if there is a bump in the road. Inside I know I must really care about this if I am going to allow it to twist me up. I am usually a laid back Zen type of person who is just ho-hum about most things, but I get into protect mode when something crosses certain boundaries. I know I care about my family, theology, philosophy, friendships, mental illness, work and my writing because these are the things where most of my passion comes from. Are the feelings I have about this stuff misguided passion, or defensive anger? This is not blind rage anger it is something different. I get into panic mode because I want to fix whatever the problem is so my world stays the same. This comes through as anger but is always something much deeper, much more painful. Edward Abbey was not talking about interpersonal relationships when he said this. It was geared towards his passion over the west and the environment. I think even though this quote is not taken in direct context it can still be a guiding stick to your personal relationships and your dreams