People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
Our memory of how we felt about a person, place or thing will always outlast what we actually did, heard or said. Did the movie move you to tears? Did the food send your taste buds soaring?
Did you fall in love at first sight? What we specifically may have done, heard and/or said is actually subject to change. So it follows that even our interpretation, or perspective, of what we experienced is subject to change. Go figure. Changes as quickly as you change your mind or replace a belief with a new belief.
To see what I mean, try this: write a memoir of an event 2 minutes after it occurred, then again after 2 years, then again after 20 years, and see the differences your recollection produces.
Feelings and Life
Our life situation, karma, creativity and upbringing, all assist in conjuring up different ideas and explanations for what we’ve lived through. Thus breeding our attitudes and opinions. Some people go to therapy to make sense of life, others seek religion. Some eat to cope, others resort to hurting themselves–physically and emotionally. To each his own evolution of mind, thought, and, therefore, perspective.
What matters isn’t what one would label ‘facts’ because facts are facts until someone decides they’re not. (Ah, science.) What matters is what you interpret to be the case; reality is as you see it. All we ever have is our awareness of a reality, what we tell ourselves…our belief system.
Our interpretations are directly linked to those stories we tell ourselves. Directly linked to how we perceive an event or experience. Directly linked to what we believe we did, heard or said.
And directly linked to the feelings that are aroused as a result.
6 replies to "The Feeling Place: How Feelings Move Us"
[…] my mat, my thoughts become crystal clear. What I’m thinking and how it’s making me feel. How it causes me to react. How it colors my […]
[…] okay with not knowing and letting life unfold as it will. What would that feel like? After all, feeling is our best compass. And moving forward according to what feels good and peaceful is how we foster an effortless and […]
[…] decision you make ultimately boils down to how the result will make you feel. You prefer one feeling over another, so you act to achieve the desired feeling. You don’t want […]
[…] want it to feel good. Not every pose will feel good at first, but we strive to make it so. Only reach for what feels good because it’s about what it feels like, not what it looks like. Assess yourself before and after […]
[…] drifting to the past or future is how we disconnect from those simple pleasures, lose touch with those around us, and grow insensitive to our relationship with the […]
[…] is the emotional label for spirit – it’s your gut, your spirit’s feeling place. It’s where your 5 senses connect on a mental level—which means you’ve interpreted the feels […]