Feelings
There are 6 emotions:
happy, sad, angry, surprise, dissappointment, fear.
There are hundreds of feelings:
they are combinations of emotions & cultural experience.
I was advised in the Novitiate to not have feelings about my feelings, but to observe my feelings, take them for what they are worth. Go ahead and evaluate ‘em: where do they come from, what are they urging you to do, etc. But don’t be upset when you’re not happy.
With dad and the pope leaving me here on earth to fend for myself, plus my day to day emotional rollercoaster gives me many opportunities to practice the above advice. Often I find myself upset, frustrated, or angry that I’m not sad when I’m supposed to be, or more often, simply not happy all the time.
As I type this, I’m upset about my budget. I found myself upset that I’m upset, too. I feel good when I think that I’m DOing a budget. Perhaps the feelings about our feelings are what give them such momentum.
Feeling advice #two: Our thoughts influence our feelings and our feelings influence our thoughts.