As men, we tend to fall somewhere between these two extremes when it pertains to our perspective on emotions:
We are either disconnected and unaware throughout our day of what emotions we have and how they're influencing us, which regularly leaves us feeling numb, lost, angered, and confused within
or
we’re so aware of our emotions that we often find ourselves lost, overwhelmed, and "drowning" amidst them.
Both, in their own way, leave us desperate and starving for control within. And thus, if given enough negative experiences, lead us to resist our emotions.
But...
There's another way to regain internal control and power, and it's not through dominating our emotions, dictating an internal change, or punishing ourselves in self-judgment because of our inability to control our inner world.
Instead, it's about changing, slowly, through the lifelong work of practicing stillness and self-awareness, where we learn to approach the emotions limiting us from peace with bravery, acceptance, curiosity, and compassion.