The Value of Encounters, Part 3: The Things and the People We Have Met



Have you ever stopped to think about where your emotions come from?

The sadness you feel, the joy you express, the happiness you experience—have you ever wondered when those emotions were first created and why they still appear today?

Think about the toys you loved as a child. Think about the friends you cherished. Think about the toys you disliked, the friends you resented, and the experiences that left a deep impression on your heart.

As you grew older, you found new possessions that you loved and others that you disliked. You met friends you treasured and people who disappointed or hurt you. Perhaps someone excluded you, leaving you with painful memories. Perhaps someone encouraged you, supported you, and filled your heart with gratitude. Every one of those experiences created emotions that remained within you.

Now, as an adult, you still have people you love, people you dislike, possessions you value, and memories that continue to influence your heart.

When something happens to you today, your response is often shaped by those emotions that have been quietly stored within you for many years. They rise to the surface and become the emotions you express in the present.

The warmth you felt toward a treasured toy in childhood may still appear today as appreciation for something meaningful. The friendship you experienced as a child may become the deep trust and affection you feel toward a close friend as an adult.

The opposite is also true.

Feelings of resentment, disappointment, hurt, and bitterness can continue to influence us in exactly the same way if they remain within our hearts.

Perhaps this is why it is worth asking ourselves an important question:

What kind of emotions are we choosing to build within ourselves?

It may be that many of the emotions we express today are not entirely new. They may simply be the emotions we have carried with us from our memories and our past, continuing to shape the way we see the present.


Have you ever wondered whether your past emotions, memories, and thoughts have shaped the person you are today?


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