The Shifting Nature of Feelings

As I sip my morning coffee on my last day in Kuala Lumpur, sitting on the couch in my hotel room, I watch the city wake up with its hustle and bustle. A thought pops into my mind:

How strange are human feelings? Sometimes they are so intense that they stop us from thinking rationally.

How many times in our lives have we ignored our gut instincts because our feelings were too strong—whether in love, in hate, or in anger?

The deeper I thought about it, the more I confused myself. Marriages break down because feelings fade. Friendships dissolve for the same reason. Even our bonds with family shift over time as our feelings toward them change.

But with age, I’ve noticed something: my feelings no longer take center stage in my decisions. Not because they don’t matter, but because I no longer allow them to be the only guide. Maybe this has made me a little colder, but it has also saved me from many disappointments.

Perhaps we were taught wrong all along—that feelings should always lead us. Maybe the truth is that feelings can lie and that the real path forward is learning to balance the heart with logic.

And as I finish my coffee, I can’t help but smile at yet another thought from my chaotic mind.