Today, pay attention to the emotions that arise and treat them with what Buddhist teacher Tara Brach calls "unconditional friendliness." This does not mean that we act on anger or jealousy, only that we provide space for all our feelings and treat them with kindness and dignity, like worried children. They exist for a reason and have something to teach us. Just acknowledging them, naming them, and giving them a little attention will help them stay in proper proportion and lead to healthy actions.
As children, many of us were taught that not all of our emotions are acceptable. As a result, we push feelings down, treat them with distain, ignore them. And when feelings are not treated with respect, they act out and undermine--they get sneaky.
Today, pay attention to the emotions that arise and treat them with what Buddhist teacher Tara Brach calls "unconditional friendliness." This does not mean that we act on anger or jealousy, only that we provide space for all our feelings and treat them with kindness and dignity, like worried children. They exist for a reason and have something to teach us. Just acknowledging them, naming them, and giving them a little attention will help them stay in proper proportion and lead to healthy actions.
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AuthorTarn Wilson is the author of the memoir The Slow Farm and numerous essays. You may read more of her work at tarnwilson.com. Archives
September 2020
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