Quote of the Day

Artificially induced positive feelings are not only short-lived, they also leave us in the state of a child hoping against hope that our parents will one day show their good sides, thus relieving us of the necessity to feel anger or fear in connection with them.  But if we want to attain true adulthood and live in our present reality, we must (and can) free ourselves of these illusory expectations.  To do so, we need to admit the so-called negative emotions and change them into meaningful feelings, instead of trying to banish them as quickly and effectively as possible.  Once they are admitted into our awareness, these emotions do not last forever, though in the relatively short time they persist they can liberate pent-up energies.  Only when we attempt to ignore or banish them altogether do they ensconce themselves in the body.

-- Alice Miller, The Body Never Lies, p. 162-163