Managing emotions

Here's a really wonderful entry in that little book I've shared with you before called 1,001 Meditations by Mike George:

Emotions can feel uncontrollable - we have no choice but to experience them. But to live by our emotions is to live under a tyrant's rule. Acknowledge emotions for what they are, without shame or guilt, and then allow them to pass through you like wind moving through the leaves of a tree. Remember that it is only with your permission that feelings can change the way you behave.

It's easier to let go of emotions when we're regular meditators because the meditative process is one of continually letting go. That way we have a lot of practice.