Feel the feelings. Drop the story.

Feelings are something you have, not something that rules you.  It was pretty interesting when I started to think of feelings as a child. You are the parent of your feelings. You made them yourself. Sometimes they can bring you joy and sometimes they can give you a headache. But you are the parent and you set the rules. Sometimes in the right setting you can let them run wild. They have to follow your rules. Think of the chaos that will ensue if you let your child run the house. And think of the mental health of your child if you choose to ignore or stifle them from expressing themselves. Both ignore and obsessing over your feelings gives them power. Experience the experience. Suffering is ignoring this moment, freedom is in this moment. Turn towards what you feel, let the feelings be just what they are without trying to explain them.

Down by the River

"He had learned a lot just by sitting here and watching the water flow by. He noticed that many people's energy flow was like water: just little trickles, like a small creek; clogged and muddied, like a dammed up stream; wild and turbulent like a river in the spring; serenely flowing like the great river in front of him; fast and furious like the rapids upriver, then growing sluggish and heavy like the part of the river that flowed past the village downstream. The trick was to find a rhythem that suited oneself and try to stick to that. It was far better to be harmonious and consistent than it was to change one's flow every other day or even many times a day." -Chuang Tzu