Emotions. People worship their emotions to the point where: “if you don’t validate my feelings, you’re not for me. You’re against me.”
And I get it. We all want to be seen and heard. Problem is, we don’t realize that we often don’t want to see and hear other people either.
We think we’re always right, that we’re already perfect, and we don’t need to change. If we’re honest many of us think we’re “good”person and everyone else who challenges/disagrees with us is the one that needs work (in our eyes). Oof…
What we want is emotional idolatry. Where we think our feelings are the truth, and everyone else has to bend to it. And if they don’t, we dismiss them, we character-assassinate them, and call it “not my people.”
Deep, right… if we’re honest, a-lot of us are like this. 😮💨 We need to ask ourselves: “If I only listen when I agree, who am I really serving?”. And this is why we fight. It’s hard truth. Thanks for reading. 🩷
This is honest and important. Emotions are real and deserve care, but they aren’t infallible. They reflect how we experience the world, not necessarily how the world is. That’s why emotional honesty must be paired with humility.
Yes, we all want to be heard, but being heard isn’t the same as being agreed with. And sometimes, disagreement is the highest form of care. If someone challenges us respectfully, that’s not an attack, it might be just a mirror.
The danger comes when we treat our emotions as ultimate truth. That’s when conversation dies, relationships fracture, and growth halts. Validation matters, but it shouldn’t mean unquestioning affirmation.
Emotions are a compass, not a commandment. They help us navigate, but they shouldn’t replace reality. Truth isn’t always comfortable, but it’s what frees us from the tyranny of our own subjectivity.
Thanks for sharing your insights. It’s a hard but necessary reminder.
Criminally underrated piece.
Add one more to point no. 2.
Emotions. People worship their emotions to the point where: “if you don’t validate my feelings, you’re not for me. You’re against me.”
And I get it. We all want to be seen and heard. Problem is, we don’t realize that we often don’t want to see and hear other people either.
We think we’re always right, that we’re already perfect, and we don’t need to change. If we’re honest many of us think we’re “good”person and everyone else who challenges/disagrees with us is the one that needs work (in our eyes). Oof…
What we want is emotional idolatry. Where we think our feelings are the truth, and everyone else has to bend to it. And if they don’t, we dismiss them, we character-assassinate them, and call it “not my people.”
Deep, right… if we’re honest, a-lot of us are like this. 😮💨 We need to ask ourselves: “If I only listen when I agree, who am I really serving?”. And this is why we fight. It’s hard truth. Thanks for reading. 🩷
This is honest and important. Emotions are real and deserve care, but they aren’t infallible. They reflect how we experience the world, not necessarily how the world is. That’s why emotional honesty must be paired with humility.
Yes, we all want to be heard, but being heard isn’t the same as being agreed with. And sometimes, disagreement is the highest form of care. If someone challenges us respectfully, that’s not an attack, it might be just a mirror.
The danger comes when we treat our emotions as ultimate truth. That’s when conversation dies, relationships fracture, and growth halts. Validation matters, but it shouldn’t mean unquestioning affirmation.
Emotions are a compass, not a commandment. They help us navigate, but they shouldn’t replace reality. Truth isn’t always comfortable, but it’s what frees us from the tyranny of our own subjectivity.
Thanks for sharing your insights. It’s a hard but necessary reminder.
Emotional honesty must be paired with humility — that’s a bar.
This is one of the best essays I have read in quite some time...now I have to go think about this for a bit. Thank you
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