‘Temet nosce’ means ‘Know Thyself’. Learning who you are is the greatest journey anyone can take in this existence. Not only to get to see your True Nature, but also to understand your inner workings so you can lead a more skillful life.
Usually learning takes place using a punish/reward system. Unfortunately for us humans, we tend to need suffering to incentivise us to learn. The vehicle for that suffering (and the rewards) are our emotions. Emotions can bring us great suffering if left under the care of an unchecked mind.
The first step to coping with difficult emotions is taking control of the mind factor. This is difficult but it can be done with practice. If done well like here (Dutch site) it can result in profound spiritual growth.
That’s why I always see two sides to difficult emotions. I see and feel the pain and the suffering is there, but I also see the opportunity to grow. The emotions are going to be there anyway, might as well use them and learn. This sounds easy but it is not. It takes courage to not flee into the victim role, blaming the world and avoiding responsibility. I admire anyone who has the guts to consciously confront their emotions.
That being said, strong ‘positive’ emotions are not necessarily good too. If the pendulum swings far to one side, the next swing will be to the other side. It is best to stay close to the middle where there is balance. I think this is one of the lessons of Life.
Be well 🌺