When rivals collide (A flash fiction)

“Ha! You know what Mike, you’re full of rubbish!” whispered Rap to Mike’s ears as they resume from timeout.

“Thanks” Mike replied.

18 seconds left. Warriors ahead, 99-97.

Rap, ace player of Angels, hasn’t scored yet in final period. All praises from their coach, Mike just keeps shutting down the opponent’s go-to-guy.

Receiving from a teammates’ baseline inbound, Rap dribbled swiftly towards the hoop. Mike chased him and gets in front of him. As he drives inside the paint, he planted an elbow to Mike’s face. The ref blows the whistle.

“No worries. Part of the game,” said Mike while holding his cheek.

“YOU WANNA PIECE OF ME? LET’S CREATE SOME WORRY!”

A free-for-all ensues.

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Postscript: I’m not in the mood to write tonight since I got tired from playing basketball scrimmage this afternoon. Just decided to make a short story out of an NCAA basketbrawl. Trust me, no violence happened while I played with my fellow brothers. I even used my favorite expression in basketball, “part of the game.”

Writing prompt: Writing 101: Give and Take (Assignment # 7)

Imaginary conversations

Last week, I got disrespected by a close acquaintance. While my body temperature is rising due to the embarrassment, I’m holding an imaginary response in my head as a rebuttal. And as I am constructing a scene in my head, I can now hold my emotions in check.

For me, constructing imaginary conversations works effectively when I’m trying to assert strong emotions like anger. In doing that, I try to pick a close friend whom I know that can handle emotions properly. Since our friends cannot always be present, having imaginary dialogues with friends is convenient. The friends I pick for my imaginary talks are my close confidants whom I share secrets. They are good listeners.

In my head, I imagine my friend asking me questions like:

1. What happened?

2. How are you feeling.

Afterwards, I respond to them openly and honestly, slowly confiding my darkest emotions. What’s good with picking my closest friends in holding imaginary conversations is that they most certainly know what makes me angry. In that reason, they can empathize with my feelings.

I know it will work with people having strong imagination. The beauty of it is that since we’re just imagining things, it’s not real of course. And since they aren’t real, it’s just fine when you break down during the imaginary talk. But if possible, always try to restrain anger. Since we know that they’re just living in your head momentarily, be open. Another thing is that they won’t ask you for anything like treating them in a restaurant or a merry-go-round ride. So go ahead and create imaginary conversations. Let your imagination run wild.

With regards to the one who offended me, we’re in good terms now. I’ve forgiven him already.

"Imagination!" - Sponge Bob

Reasons Why Anger can be Constructive

With free time to spare, now I’ll be heeding an interesting topic today suggested by The Daily Post:

Topic #219:

Can anger be constructive?

Topic submitted by Corkscrewboo-hoo.

Definition of Anger

First, let’s define what is anger. In the website of American Psychological Association, quoting Encyclopedia of Psychology as their source, Anger is stated as:

Anger is an emotion characterized by antagonism toward someone or something you feel has deliberately done you wrong.

Anger can be a good thing. It can give you a way to express negative feelings, for example, or motivate you to find solutions to problems.

But excessive anger can cause problems. Increased blood pressure and other physical changes associated with anger make it difficult to think straight and harm your physical and mental health.

Yes, anger is a natural. It’s part of our emotions and it’s in our instincts. Anger is sometimes good. It protects us when our ego is being trampled. It keeps us from being humiliated in front of other people. It sometimes makes us assertive in a way that we can express our own feelings in a positive way. But most of the time, the problem arises when it results to a violent reaction.

There’s a saying in Filipino that is roughly translated as: “Too much of something is dangerous.” And this saying also applies with anger. When the intensity of anger rises up, that’s when anger becomes uncontrollable. And when a person is being controlled by excessive anger, that’s where the problem arises.

Anger as Constructive?

Aside from being destructive, what about anger’s constructive side? I believe that Anger is also Constructive. And these are my top 10 reasons:

• It makes us assertive (rather than aggressive).

• Anger Makes People Want Things More.

• It inspires us to perform better. For example in sports , when frustrated, it makes an athlete to perform better. (Though it may look like being aggressive. I’ve watch the dunking video of Blake Griffin and it proved me right… I guess.)

• People who are angry pay more attention to rewards than to threats.

• It lets others know what makes you angry, making them realize to be considerate of their actions.

• Determining what makes us angry can lead to a better understanding of ourselves.

Can’t think of other reasons now. How about you? What are your other reasons why anger can be constructive?