Ellwood Kieser: Self - Host

Quotes 

• Ellwood Kieser - Host : In every close human relationship, there are moments of tension and even, of anger. This is especially true between husband and wife. So what do we do when we feel these negative emotions? We can suppress them, bar them from consciousness; refuse to feel them, but psychologically, this is very, very unhealthy. Anger can be denied, but it cannot be eliminated. It continues to move around our unconsciousness, looking for a means of escape. Sooner or later, it's going to burst out and the results can be devastating for ourselves or for someone we love. There's another reason, too, why suppression is unhealthy. We can get rid of one emotion, but by that very fact, we get rid of all emotion. We may suppress the anger, but by that very fact, we also suppress love and joy and playfulness and spontaneity. So what do we do? What do we do with these negative emotions? I think we can begin by admitting to ourselves how negative we really feel and we can assume personal responsibility for those feelings, not blame them on somebody else. It's so much more honest to say, "I'm very angry!" then to say, "You make me mad!" but once we admit it, what do we do then? Is it possible to transform these emotions to guide them along constructive paths; to make them vehicles of love?