You are made for connection. You are deserving of kindness. That thing in your life that’s unnerving you right now? The situation that’s bringing out the worst in you? The relationship that’s gone sideways and feels awkward now? Take some time to sit with it. Acknowledge it. Be curious about it. To look deeply at our feelings and reactions does not have to mean they will overtake us. This was the lesson of a lifetime for me. I thought if I ever stopped and truly experienced my feelings at their deepest, darkest places, if I let the floodgates open the pain would wash me away and I’d never recover. Sometimes it feels that way though, doesn’t it? But here’s the thing: It’s not true. I’ve gone there and lived to tell about it. Heck, I’d go so far as to say I wasn’t living before I learned how to feel my feelings. I certainly wasn’t thriving, and I didn’t know joy.
If we sit with our emotions and reactions and take time to really understand what they are and what part of our story they’re coming from, we get the chance to learn about them. We also get the chance to change the ending. Most of us are so time-starved and connection-deprived that we don’t even know where to begin looking at our insides with loving glimpses. Until we learn to sit with our emotional selves and offer those hard and often raw parts acceptance, care, and kindness... until then we will only be about reacting to the thing in front of us. The emotions and reactions will continue to write our stories.
What feelings can you risk sitting with today? Even for one minute. You are worth living awake and knowing your depths. You are worth a story that knows joy because it’s acquainted with deep sorrow. You are loved. You are seen. You have tremendous value. ❤️