One day, a friend called me in tears because his girlfriend had left him for someone else. I couldn’t quite grasp why he was so heartbroken.

I asked him, ‘Don’t you want to be with someone who loves you just as much as you love them? Someone who would never hurt you like this? She doesn’t meet that standard, so why are you so upset?’

It didn’t add up to me — at least not to me at this time in my life.

In that moment, I realized my perspective on emotions had shifted, setting me apart from others. For me, emotions have become obstacles on what could otherwise be a smooth road to happiness, while my friends seem to embrace and even dwell on the ups and downs of their emotional journeys.

It’s not that I’m unfeeling or harsh; I’ve just learned to trace emotional pain back to its source, and when it’s self-inflicted—as it often is—I can’t help but think, ‘If it hurts when you poke the wound, why keep doing it?’

When people seek my advice, I offer them a dose of reality. I understand that my words can come across as harsh to some.

I am now coming to understand more than ever that feelings are temporary, like clouds drifting across the sky, while emotions are woven into a narrative.

These emotions can persist as long as we keep feeding the story, sometimes for years—I’ve experienced this myself.

So, when people feel sadness, I understand entirely. However, it confuses me when they continue to express that sadness through an emotional lens. I know how much time can be lost when you go down that path.

Buddhism teaches that when we become attached to impermanent things—feelings being a prime example—we invite suffering into our lives. However, by experiencing each moment without clinging to it, we can remove the root of our suffering in the present and embrace life with joy and contentment.

Impermanence is a concept with two sides.

The Buddha teaches that nothing in the universe is permanent—everything that arises will fade, whatever lives will eventually die, and all that is created will ultimately decay. As I delve deeper into the Buddha’s teachings, I think, ‘This finally clicks! It’s truly profound!

In Buddhism, ‘mind’ refers to the mental process of experiencing life, which is constantly shifting and influenced by various mental factors. The teachings emphasize that we aren’t merely passive recipients of life’s circumstances; instead, we actively shape our experiences and how we perceive them.

While it makes perfect sense logically, it takes years of mental retraining to truly see things this way—especially in the heat of the moment!

We all experience a range of emotions, such as anger, anxiety, joy, confusion, sadness, and excitement; however, none of them last forever, and that’s perfectly natural. As one feeling fades, another will inevitably take its place.

It’s normal to feel let down when things don’t go as planned; however, moving forward is the best course of action. Though it can be challenging, it’s far easier than holding onto something that’s no longer there. The only thing you can do is remind yourself to release and move on.