Emotions
When I was a much younger man I spent several summers working at a summer theater on Long Island. It was an experience I now look back on nostalgically. It was a time in my life of few cares, camaraderie, and lots of music.
My friends and I from the pit orchestra used to hang out at a local pub in the evenings. One of our companions was a waitress - a local girl who we enjoyed hanging out with. She really liked to have a good time - but what I remember most about her are a few words she said to me.
They are words that hold great wisdom and have stuck with me these nearly twenty years. One might not expect such a gold nugget of wisdom from a humble waitress; but I continue to consider what she said to me - and as I progress through my life it takes on a deeper meaning.
As I poured out my heart to her one night; expressing a state of deep depression and sadness over something since forgotten; the words she uttered were, “you pay too much attention to your emotions”.
In other words - being in touch with your emotions - and letting your emotions define who you are, are very different things. It is okay to feel you are depressed and know you are depressed - but don’t BE it, and don’t let it pervade your perception of everything you are and all that is.
