emotions – Page 2 – A Kintsugi Life

Healing through grief, fear, and despair

Kenetha Book club, Kintsugi living July 1, 2020May 30, 2026despair, emotions, fear, grief, healing

When we head directly into the darkness of these difficult emotions with the knowledge of how to transform them into something more, we come out the other side with our hands full of treasure. We heal THROUGH them, not FROM them.

Dealing with discouragement

Kenetha Kintsugi living April 29, 2020May 30, 2026anger, discouragement, emotions, fear, grief, self-care, support

Discouragement is a natural outcome of the amount of disruption we are facing. Here are some things that I’ve found helpful in working through my discouraging moments. What works best for you?

When transformation comes bubbling up through the cracks

Kenetha Transformation December 4, 2019May 30, 2026change, choice, emotions, healing, shadow, transformation, wounds

When the earthquakes of life leave our worlds in piles of rubble, they also tend to open up fissures that let our “stuff” (old wounds, unprocessed emotions, our shadow) come bubbling to the surface. Is this a disaster or an opportunity for transformation? That’s up to you!

Working with our pain and fear

Kenetha Kintsugi living October 9, 2019May 30, 2026compassion, emotions, fear, pain

Working with the broken places and difficult emotions in our lives in compassionate action can lead to bigger (and more ease-filled) shifts than struggling against those things we want to change.

Spring cleaning for the soul

Kenetha Kintsugi living April 3, 2019May 30, 2026belief, emotions, identity, self-care, soul, stories, thoughts

A recent binge of spring cleaning around the house has opened up such space and possibility that it has sifted through to a similar spring cleaning in my inner world that’s bringing equally valuable spaciousness there. Here’s what this has looked like for me. What might a spring cleaning for your soul look like in your world?

Trusting myself more and my thoughts less

Kenetha Transformation February 20, 2019May 30, 2026ego, emotions, growth, healing, identity, intuition, observer, stories, thoughts, transformation, witness

statue of man thinking with head resting on hand

The most powerful and life-changing practice I’ve ever undertaken in supporting and empowering my healing, growth, and transformation has been learning to trust myself more and to trust my thoughts less. That sounds to most of us like a contradiction (who am I without my thoughts?), but it’s not. Discovering the you that is deeper than your thoughts is more rewarding than you can imagine!

The dance floor of the mind

Kenetha Kintsugi living June 20, 2018May 30, 2026compassion, dance, emotions, mind, stories, thoughts

black silhouettes of crowd of people dancing against colored background of bricks

Last week’s post generated a number of questions from readers about what I meant by dancing with my thoughts, so this week I explore a bit further what I mean by seeing my mind as a dance floor and how that helps me deal more productively with unwanted thoughts and memories. What does the image of your mind as a dance floor mean to you?

Getting to know our wounds

Kenetha Healing November 8, 2017May 30, 2026awareness, compassion, emotions, stories, wounds

woman laying on ground in bed of fall leaves staring upward

Last week’s post about touching our wounds with love seems to have hit a chord with many of my readers, and I’ve heard from some of you that this is something you’d like to learn to do better, but you’re not sure how to go about it on a practical level. This week, I share my exercise for doing this that I’ve found to be particularly healing. My hope is that it can be a starting place for you to find your own way to touch your wounds with love.

Breaking the tyranny of emotions: A gift of kintsugi gold

Kenetha Gifts of kintsugi gold June 28, 2017May 30, 2026emotions, gifts, gold, kintsugi, kintsukuroi, mindfulness, witness

Kintsugi (kintsukuroi) red creek jasper stone heart pendant with gold repair on black cotton cord

Our emotions are meant to be our servants, providing information about ourselves and our world, but they easily become tyrants with their intensity controlling our reactions instead of informing them. Breaking this tyranny and returning them to their rightful place as servants requires being able to stand in the center of the inferno of our emotional storms and simultaneously stay connected to the detached, curious inner observer that is able to learn from them. Learn more about this lesson and the gifts it has to give in this post.

The danger of dammed emotions

Kenetha Kintsugi living May 17, 2017May 30, 2026emotions

Dams are helpful in controlling the flow of rivers to avoid periodic flooding, but when we apply that same idea to our emotional floods because the stakes are so high when the dams fail. It’s messy and inconvenient to deal with the periodic emotional floods of life as they come along, but it is healthier in the long run. Here are some tips I’ve found helpful for processing them as they come along so that I’m less tempted to stuff them behind a dam. What works best for you for processing challenging emotions?