Thoughtful Thursday - Do You Allow Yourself to Feel?

(Image by @iamtaniahart via Instagram)

Take a quiet moment for yourself.

Place a hand over your heart space and one over your abdomen.

Close your eyes if you are comfortable.

Whether you are seated or standing, notice how you feel.

How do you feel, right now, in this moment?

What emotions are coming up? 

Anger?

Joy?

Anxiety?

Happiness?

Can you name them?

I say, "them" because we often feel more than one thing, sometimes even conflicting things, all at once.

Do you suppress it?

Do you let it out?

Do you allow yourself to feel your emotions?

This, my friend, is where the growth happens.

So often we push our feelings down, we tell ourselves, "I'll deal with that later," and forget it.

We tell ourselves that "Good people don't feel that," and punish ourselves for feeling.

We ignore and push feelings down so deep that we're almost standing on them.

So I'd like you to give yourself permission to understand something:

You're human.

Humans feel.

We love, and hate, we feel anxious, and joy, we feel bliss and excitement. We feel sadness and grief. We feel terror and courage.

And so much more.

And that is ok.

More than that: it is normal.

Yes, it's normal to feel, sometimes many feelings, sometimes all at once.

And it's ok to talk about it. It's ok to feel and react to those feelings. 

Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry, sometimes we are so full of rage we shake with it.

That's normal. And that's ok.

Allow yourself to feel. Allow yourself to experience it.

And realize one very, very important thing:

Your emotions won't hurt you.

Your feelings are here to guide you.

Your emotions show you that you are living a life.

Your emotions show you that you are dealing with something that needs your attention. Something that needs you to focus on and deal with in order for the joy, pain, fear, love, to be experienced and then released. It needs for you to pay attention to these clues so that you can experience this one life on this one planet we call home.

So, please, understand that it's ok to laugh, to cry, to want to shout.

It is ok to feel. Period.

You are human. And the fact that you are feeling emotion is a good thing.

It's a proof of your life and your experiences.

If you have a hard time experiencing, dealing, processing your feelings, then please, reach out to a counsellor, a therapist, a trusted friend or family member and talk.

It's ok to talk about it. Sometimes feelings get so big we need to share.

And that's ok.

You, in fact, are ok.

You are amazing. Always remember that.

Take a deep breath, and allow yourself to feel.

Hugs,

Meghann