Feelings are much like waves. We can't stop them from coming but we can choose which ones to surf.
VerifiedAttributed
Why This Matters
Read full quote →The wisdom here isn't about suppressing difficult emotions—it's about recognizing that surrender and agency aren't opposites. Notice that surfing requires you to *move with* the wave's energy rather than fight it, meaning acceptance and choice work together, not against each other. When your teenager sulks or you feel envy at a friend's promotion, you can't simply decide those feelings away, but you *can* decide whether to spiral in them for three days or let them pass through you. That distinction—between feeling something and *inhabiting* it—is where actual freedom lives.