“Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for truth.”

-- Benjamin Disraeli

Lately I found myself almost explosive with anger. I was baffled by this -- nothing seemed to warrant this rage inside. But I believe all problems have a spiritual source and my rage was my clue to find what has been out of alignment.

A friend who was experiencing exactly the same thing concluded that her fury arose because time and time again, she failed to honour her feelings. How that rang true for me!

What typically happens when something irritates me? I discount my irritation as petty, not worthy of attention. “I shouldn’t be irritated over something so minor,” I tell myself sternly.

And so my feelings get shoved aside, swept under the rug, trampled on. Never respected, never allowed to be consciously experienced. Never allowed to give me information about myself. And as those feelings are never properly dealt with, they lie simmering in the darkness, building with each unacknowledged incident. Now wonder I have become a powder keg!

My feelings -- no matter what they are -- are valid. As a mature adult, I don’t have to act out my feelings but I can always value them and learn from them.

~ Patrice

“Feelings provide us with vital and potentially profitable information every minute of the day. This feed back from the heart, and not the head, is what ignites creative genius, keeps you honest with yourself, shapes trusting relationships, provides an inner compass for your life and career, guides you to unexpected possibilities, and may even save you or your organization from disaster.”

-- Robert Cooper