Emotions/ Student and Teacher

I either heard or read a phrase recently: Let your emotions teach you.

That idea has been rolling around in my head, because it made me think of something else. If I’m being taught by my emotions, then I also need to learn from my emotions.

That means I’m playing two roles at the same time. I’m the learner, and I’m the one responsible for making sure the learning actually takes place.

And if I’m both teacher and learner, then I have to give myself the time to learn.

I often ask myself, What is my anger trying to teach me? Then, almost immediately, I move on to the next decision I have to make. I know I can’t make a choice that will hurt or upset someone else. I know I need to respond instead of react.

But then what do I do with the anger?

I can wish it away.

I can technique it away.

I can coping-skill it away.

But am I really allowing myself to be taught by my emotions? Am I actually taking the time to learn from them?

And honestly, who has time?

Our emotions usually show up in the middle of an activity. They don’t wait until our calendar is clear. They interrupt meetings, conversations, commutes, classrooms, grocery stores, and ordinary Tuesday afternoons.

That’s when another thought occurred to me.

Studying rarely happens well in the middle of the activity itself. And learning from an emotion in real time is no different.

Learning requires space.

I think that’s the importance of solitude and silence.

When I sit quietly, journal, pray, take a walk, or simply allow myself to be still, I’m creating a classroom where my emotions can finally teach and I can finally learn.

Maybe that’s what those quiet moments are really for.

Not escaping our emotions.

Studying them. Giving myself the time to be a learner.

The emotion may arrive in a moment, but the lesson often comes later.

So perhaps emotions don’t simply ask to be felt. They ask to be studied.

If I never make time to study them, I’ll keep experiencing the same lessons without ever learning them.

What emotion has been trying to teach you something lately—and have you given yourself enough quiet space to actually listen?