Difficult Emotions Quotes

“...I think the more
she has failed at things like relationships
and parenting, the more she has cut

herself off from feeling bad about those
things. And if you don't let yourself feel
bad, sooner or later you stop feeling

good, too. You insulate yourself. Build
up layers, like stacking paper, everything
growing heavier. And when the weight

becomes too much, those layers compress.
Become hard. Sad, really, to think that
Kristina has turned herself into cardboard.”
― Ellen Hopkins, Fallout

“I would like to turn in my skin and change it for a new epidermis. It feels as if I will never be able to rinse the sadness from my soul. All the while I am cognizant of the fact that I am trying to purge myself of my feelings. I start with my shell.
I am in the water at least an hour. I immerse my head. My long, thick mane is so heavy, but I feel the lightness of my hair as it floats. I can hear my heart beating in my ears. I wonder what would happen if I died in this water. I drain the bathtub and refill it. I scrub my skin until it stings. I still don't feel clean. I close my eyes.
I switch to lying on my back. I gaze at the heavens through the skylight on the ceiling above the tub. I am thinking about Isabella. I am struck by the feeling of uncleanness that I have been immersed in that day. I would imagine that this child feels unclean always, in body and in mind. I am hoping that the sheets in her foster home are snow white and fragrant. I am hoping that she felt safe. I am worried that she is so deeply alone and frightened. I know somewhere deep inside of me that the decisions and choices I made today were sound. I am praying, with eyes glued to the stars, that I will not awaken in the night with my heart beating out of my chest; that I will not be haunted by Francis's diseased body; that I will not perseverate on ever nuance of my day - the smells, the cockroaches, the piercing torment of Isabella's unseeing eye, her father's sore-ridden penis penetrating her tiny body. Yet in many ways this is an experience I hope never to forget. The pearls. I must not forget the pearls that I have promised her.”
― Holly A. Smith, Fire of the Five Hearts

“The difficulties in life are vital for our personal growth and well-being.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

“In order to work with difficult outer circumstances, we need to gather our inner strength. If even ten or twenty minutes of meditation a day helps us to do this, let's go for it!”
― Pema Chödrön, No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva

“No situation is hopeless. Do not give up.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita