The Power of Gentle

Eddie was angry, he was so furious that he was destroying his playroom. His mother sat outside listening to him throw toys and yell. Nothing could hurt him but she was out of ideas. well, all but one. She took a breath and entered the playroom once more. 

"Eddie," she said sternly. He looked at her, his anger from being told no so many times, still clear on his face. "I have a story for you. But you must stop throwing things." 

He stomped his foot and made what she could only describe as a six-year-old war cry. "Fine! But I'm still angry. 

"That's fine, you are allowed to be angry. But I need you to listen." She handed him his calm-down jar, they'd made it together a few days ago. He glared at it and set it down hard and ignored it, but he seemed to be listening. 

"Once deep in the Forest of Hullabaloo, there lived a boy made of fire. He used his gift to help people stay warm and help them find their way home in the dark. But sometimes the little boy of fire would get so frustrated and annoyed that he would lose control. When he lost control his fire began to grow and the fire would eat away at the forest. 

Sometimes he destroyed things that belonged to others. The villagers near him would just drown him in water and tell him his anger was wrong. But this didn't take his frustrations away. 

One day his fire had grown so huge and he was too angry to calm down, not even the water was working. Today, however, there was someone new in the Forest of Hullabaloo. 

A woman made of wind approached the boy with a cool breeze and spoke in a soft voice. "Hello, Friend." 

"I'm not your friend." he snapped. 

"Maybe not yet, but I'd like to help you.'' she sat near him. He kept storming back and forth, "Why are you angry?" she sent a cool breeze his way.

"I… I... I don't remember." He lets out a heavy sigh, "I'm just always angry! “He growls, “AND THEY DON’T LIKE ME WHEN I’M ANGRY!” He points to the village nearby. 

"Hmm." The lady hummed and gestured around her, "The forest is on fire." she looked at him with a soft expression. 

"I know." His flame grew smaller, "I didn't mean to... I just need to explode." A small flare happened.

"Come with me." she offered him a hand. He took her hand and he felt himself calm, he took several deep breaths. 

They walked towards a different part of the forest. "You lost control hear earlier this year, correct?" she pointed to the charred forest ahead of them. 

"Yeah." He mumbled and kicked a stone. 

"Look," she showed him where the forest was starting to heal. Little dots of green could be seen amongst the charred trees and plants. She knelt in front of him, "Your anger is not bad. But how you use it can be damaging. You need to learn how to express your anger in a way that is safe for you and everyone else.'' 

Eddies mother looked over at her son, who now sat quietly staring at his jar. "Mama?" 

"Yeah buddy?" she moved closer to him. 

"I'm sorry I lost my temper, but when I get mad, I just wanna throw stuff." she could hear the lingering anger. 

She looked around the destroyed playroom, she was just grateful he wasn't strong enough to put holes in the wall yet. "I'll tell you what, let's go outside you can throw a ball at the shed wall, and when you feel less angry. We'll come back in and start cleaning up this mess." 

"You'll help me?" he looked up at her surprised.

"I will." she kissed his forehead and offered him a hand. 

While they cleaned she would talk to him about better ways to express his anger but for now, she would guide him through this moment.