Written by Darian Rene
I write this in the midst of life’s greyest moments. Dead-winter, where the snow itself reflects dirtily.
Life hides well under the chapped soil. It’s feigned absence leads me to fix on things long gone. Instances passed and whether they were lost due to poor understanding or nature itself.
Differentiating the two is important. Sometimes we lose things due to our shortcomings, and other times it isn’t so much our fault. Even so, in retrospect I question myself.
Was I too hard? Was I too soft? Was there a better way to respond?
If the answer was always yes, perhaps it’s these figurative losses that bring us to a greater win if we allow. Trial and error can teach the necessary balance between principle and emotion.
When I was younger, my father would always tell me, “put principle before emotion.”. Naturally I’ve come to agree, but initially it led me to see an emphasized importance behind the latter.
Emotions.
I may be a bit guilty in having overly focused on emotions as a child. Thinking now, I can slightly hear the rebuttal to my father’s words. “Why should one have to come first?” ,I’d murmur.
While asking that, I lacked real respect for what rules are and ran freely through any wind with an exposed heart.
Open hearts are more susceptible to burns and wear. Consequentially mine were dealt the same damages from quick decisions and overall bad choices. Even so, burn after burn only brought me closer to the words my Dad had laid out for me. Principle. Before. Emotions.
So I say, if emotions are the wild green grasslands riddled with flower & fruit, principles act as a fence, gatekeeping the space from any pests.
Emotions are grand enough to be seen by themselves as what make up life.
In that case, principle can be the protectorate. Preserving goodness and quality.
In accordance with doing what’s right there’s much less to doubt. The thought alone of doing what’s right can allow to perceive and respond to situations in more logical manners.
Doing the best for yourself leads to the best for yourself.
New understanding of necessary lines and why they may need to be drawn around certain things. A mind more able to receive and process what it once could not.
This can only come through quiet implementation of laws in your life, with a side of getting out of your comfort zone and striving to feel and learn from the experiences.
A balance of the two.
In light of something like principle and emotion, something like a set of self-rules can be pretty helpful. Boundaries made to keep your emotions in times of need can go a long way.
Rules for yourself can be inspired by the things you want to do in life. If you want to travel everywhere, start learning how to save money and budget your goal. Make a rule not to spend X amount of dollars on weekends. Let yourself feel and enjoy, but with lines. Establish control over your feelings.
Additionally, boundaries don’t always have to ‘keep you’. We have to release in one way or another by nature. So always keep this in mind and let go every now and then. If you’ve been eating super strict for the last month maybe it’s about time for a cheat day.
The good and bad will come just as much as the hard and easy in life, beyond our control. In this case we need to live in thought of finding a balance in the flux.
This is why it is imperative that we know our own principles, and our own emotions.
Liberation Method 
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