Anger is one of those emotions that doesn't follow the letter of

The café was quiet, the humming of the air conditioning mixing with the occasional clink of cups and the soft murmur of distant conversations. Jack sat with his elbows on the table, his hands loosely clasped around his coffee cup. He stared out the window, his expression distant, almost as if the world outside wasn’t quite real. Jeeny sat across from him, her fingers tracing the rim of her cup absentmindedly, her gaze far away but sharp.

Host: The air felt thick with unspoken thoughts, and as the moment stretched, Jeeny finally spoke, her voice steady but with a hint of something intense.

Jeeny: “I came across a quote today that made me think of you. Lynn Coady said, ‘Anger is one of those emotions that doesn’t follow the letter of the law. It speaks before it thinks. It rears up on its hind legs and charges.’ Do you think that’s what anger is? Something that just happens before we can control it?”

Jack: He looked at her, the faintest flicker of recognition in his eyes, but his voice was sharp. “Anger is complicated. It’s not something you can just bottle up or ignore, and it sure as hell isn’t something that comes neatly or with rules. I don’t know if I’d say it charges exactly, but it’s definitely unpredictable. You think you’re calm, and then suddenly—boom—it takes over.”

Jeeny: Her gaze softened, but there was a quiet strength in her tone. “But don’t you think that’s part of the danger? That it just erupts without warning, and once it’s out, it’s hard to reel it back in? Anger doesn’t wait for the right time or place, it just speaks—loudly—and leaves us with the aftermath.”

Host: The ambient noise of the café faded as their conversation deepened, the weight of their words taking up more space. Jack leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping on the edge of his cup, his thoughts clearly turning over her words.

Jack: “Yeah, it’s like a reflex. Like your body and mind react before you even have time to process what’s going on. And when it’s like that, it feels like there’s no stopping it. You can try to hold back, but once anger takes hold, it’s hard to turn it off. And then the guilt comes after, doesn’t it?”

Jeeny: Her voice softened, almost sympathetic, as if she understood the internal struggle he was describing. “Exactly. It’s almost like anger pushes you into a state of reactivity, where you can’t think or consider the consequences. You just act. And then, when it’s over, you’re left standing in the wreckage, wondering how it got so out of control.”

Host: The air seemed to grow heavier, the weight of their conversation hanging between them. Jack exhaled, his expression thoughtful as he finally met Jeeny’s gaze, a quiet tension in the space between them.

Jack: “And once it’s out, it feels like there’s no way to put it back, no way to take back the things you said or did. You can apologize, but there’s always that lingering aftertaste of what was lost. Anger doesn’t give you time to think. It just happens, and then you deal with the consequences.”

Jeeny: Her eyes were steady, a quiet understanding in her gaze. “But what if we could learn to recognize it before it charges? What if we could catch that spark, that initial flicker of frustration, before it turns into something we can’t control? Maybe it’s about finding the space between the feeling and the action. Giving ourselves the time to process, to understand why we’re angry, before we let it decide for us.”

Host: The space between them seemed to settle, the weight of their words forming something like a quiet revelation. Jack’s fingers stilled on his cup, and he sat back, the tension in his posture easing just a little.

Jack: “I think you’re right. But it’s harder than it sounds. Anger has a way of overpowering everything, like it’s in control. But maybe that’s the trick—to recognize it for what it is and find a way to step back before it takes over.”

Jeeny: Her smile was small but filled with something like hope. “Exactly. Anger doesn’t have to be something we’re afraid of or that controls us. We can choose how we respond to it. It’s not about denying the emotion, it’s about channeling it in a way that doesn’t hurt us or anyone else.”

Host: There was a quiet calm that settled between them, a shared understanding that anger, while an intense and unpredictable force, didn’t have to define their reactions. The world outside continued to move in its familiar rhythm, the rain now falling more steadily, but in that moment, Jack and Jeeny sat in the stillness, understanding that the true challenge lay in how they chose to meet their emotions, not how those emotions met them.