Quotes about Emotion

It’s actually quite the opposite.

“Conquer rage with humility, conquer evil with goodness, conquer greed with generosity, and conquer lies with truth.”
Dhammapada, via A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 110)

“the inward movement can be summarized as follows: we observe ourselves, we accept what we find without judgment, we let it go, and the actual release causes our transformation.”
Yung Pueblo, Inward (Page 107)

“healing ourselves isn’t about constantly feeling bliss; being attached to bliss is a bondage of its own. trying to force ourselves to be happy is counterproductive, because it suppresses the sometimes tough reality of the moment, pushing it back within the depths of our being, instead of allowing it to arise and release.”
Yung Pueblo, Inward (Page 81)

“There is great power in honoring the reality of our current emotions—not feeding them or making them worse but simply recognizing that this is what has arisen in this present moment and that this will also change. When we create this space within ourselves—a space of calmness that is undisturbed by the storm—the storm tends to pass more quickly.”
Yung Pueblo, Inward (Page 81)

The Weight Of Envy—A Short Story About Letting Go

Excerpt: A teacher told his students to make a list of everybody they envied. But, instead of using paper, to write each name on a potato…

don't run away
from heavy emotions

honor the anger;
give pain the space
it needs to breathe

this is how we let go

~  Yung Pueblo, Inward (Page 17)

“People who are overly emotional have a leg up on a lot of people who think they’re “in control” of their emotions by suppressing and feeling nothing.”
Mark Manson

“There is no vice which lacks a defense, none that at the outset isn’t modest and easily intervened—but after this the trouble spreads widely. If you allow it to get started you won’t be able to control when it stops. Every emotion is at first weak. Later it rouses itself and gathers strength as it moves along—it’s easier to slow it down than to supplant it.”
Seneca, Moral Letters, via The Daily Stoic (Page 175)

Cool down to see truth.

“At one time or another, we all try to silence painful emotions. But when we succeed in feeling nothing we lose the only means we have of knowing what hurts us, and why.”
Stephen Grosz, The Examined Life (Page 27)

“The past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don’t have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.”
Virginia Woolf, via Educated

Humble the Poet Quote on Emotional Intelligence and How To Deal With “Less Desirable” Emotions

“All of our emotions have value, and as unpleasant as some are, they’re reminders that we’re alive and have a whole lot going on inside. Why not approach life with curiosity and wonder, instead of dread and fear. We don’t avoid movies because we know they’ll end. We enjoy the journey they take us on.”
Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 46)

Beyond the Quote (237/365)

Emotions are a signal of the state of your being. Many people categorize emotions as being either “positive” or “negative.” I think this is a dangerous practice that can lead you to suppress, ignore, invalidate, or even deny very valid signals from your body. Better to look at some emotions as being more desirable than others. States of happiness, excitement, enthusiasm, and joy, of course, are typically more desirable than sadness, anxiousness, or anger. But, don’t get it twisted. Sadness, anxiety, or anger are not “negative” emotions, per se.

“Be confused, it’s where you begin to learn new things. Be broken, it’s where you begin to heal. Be frustrated, it’s where you start to make more authentic decisions. Be sad, because if we are brave enough we can hear our heart’s wisdom through it. Be whatever you are right now. No more hiding. You are worthy, always.”
S. C. Lourie

Beyond the Quote (80/365)

Life doesn’t always have to be sunshine and rainbows. And it certainly runs deeper than smiles and ease. But you already know this. You’ve felt it: the confusion, the sadness, the frustration, the brokenness, the misery, the pain—it’s all a part of the experience of life. What you need to know is that it’s okay to feel these emotions. It doesn’t make you any less human to feel the breadth and depth of the emotional spectrum—if anything, it makes you more human.

“If you cannot feel your emotions, if you are cut off from them, you will eventually experience them on a purely physical level, as a physical problem or symptom.” ~ Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (Page 25)