Feelings are Feelings..

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.  

~Dale Carnegie

I was thinking today about feelings and emotions. We all struggle with them.  Some bottle them up, some explode with them.  What is a feeling and an emotion?  Can we control them?  Can we decide which ones to have and leave the rest?

I am one of those women who are in love with being in love.  I know the women in my family are quite infatuated the excited flutter of butterflies in our tummies.  Maybe it's why my mother and I liked being pregnant?  Ha ha...  Regardless I've heard that I'm much like my grandmother in that I really experience emotion at a level that can be perceived as insane!

So here is my truth regarding feelings.  I believe that no matter how illogical a feeling may be, we can not dismiss it as non-existent.  I don't always agree with the way I'm feeling.  In fact often, my feelings betray logic!  So a feeling is something that needs to be acknowledged.  We must face them and learn how to resolve our feelings responsibly.

Now though feelings are contrary to logic, that doesn't mean our behavior and reactions to these feelings can be, or should be.  I believe that no matter our feelings, there are consequences to our reactions.  No matter what it is.  We must take responsibility for our reactions!

I have found myself at odds with how to react to a lot of things lately.  As an adult, I no longer have the luxury of reacting in pure feeling and emotion.  As a parent, I must censor every word and edit every movement so that my feelings are not betrayed by them.  Sometimes we must feign ignorance of any inner distress so that we can process the correct response.  It's not fun, and it certainly isn't easy.  But maybe with age we will learn how to react responsibly and it will become natural.  Either that or our elder and wiser are just really good at putting up the perfect distracting poster.

I hate being succumb to such irrational emotion and feelings.  I despise crying.  It makes me feel like I'm a victim, that I'm ill equipped to deal with the world.  But what option do we have for escape?  No matter where we go, we will always be human.  So is this a bad thing?  I'm sure it can be.  The heart wants what it wants, but we must remember that sometimes, our heart needs steering.  It's not capable of making rational and logical decisions.  Make sure that you guard and guide your heart when it's necessary.  Let your feelings teach you about yourself, but don't let them define you.