The Deep End
When it comes to emotional interactions and discussions, we all have different abilities. Some people won’t go near emotional topics, while others seem to gravitate towards them.
I have always been great at going deep when it comes to emotions.
Emotions
In her book Reset, Debra Fileta talks about using the concept of levels of conversation to help illustrate emotional interaction and expression.
3 Levels of Conversation
- Facts
- Opinions and Ideas
- Feelings
Facts – 1st level, superficial, easy to talk about
Opinions and ideas – these take you deeper but keep you close to the shallow end.
Feelings – these are the deepest, most vulnerable parts when it comes to a conversation.
“Just like swimming in a pool, we’ve got to practice going deep with our emotions to get better at feeling, understanding, and expressing them. It’s not something you’re born knowing how to do; it’s something you have to learn along the way.” Debra Fileta
The Deep End
Exploring feelings and going deep is more difficult for some than others.
It often depends on a person’s experience.
- You could have been brought up in an environment where feelings weren’t welcome. So you learned to stuff your emotions. Maybe showing emotions was portrayed as weak.
- Perhaps you were exposed to deep trauma, abuse, dysfunction, or violence.
If we don’t take the time to check in with how we’re feeling, those emotions will eventually bubble up to the surface.
“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”
Proverbs 20-5
While it can be incredibly difficult to do the work and explore those emotions, it’s essential for us to do two things so we can heal.
We must:
Face them
Deal with them
This is what being a person of insight is all about. We need to take the time and do the work so we know what is going on deep inside ourselves.
Debra says that we need to “…say goodbye to the floaties in the shallow end. Because were about to learn how to swim.”
Verse For Reflection
“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out” (Proverbs 20:5).
Source
[1] Fileta, D. (2023). Reset. Harvest House Publishers.