We spend huge amounts of energy trying to avoid showing or feeling emotions. In doing this we deprive ourselves of a huge amount of joy in our lives.
Emotions are not bad
Despite what we have been taught, experiencing an emotion is not a bad thing. Emotions are part of our being. They are there for a reason. Can you imagine what it must be like to go through life feeling, well, feeling flat? Many schools of though suggest we cannot feel joy unless we feel sadness first. Can we truly appreciate the thrill of love if we have not also experienced its absence? This is a discussion for another day, but it is something to think about.
Emotions become counter-productive when we stop serving ourselves and begin serving our emotions. As wonderful as the feeling of love can be, if we begin defining ourselves by what we see as love in our lives we have also begun serving the emotion. We all know stories of people who have literally destroyed their own lives chasing that emotional high we get from love.
Being the observer
Rather than making ourselves frustrated trying to suppress our emotions, how much more satisfying is it to recognize an emotion as it passes through our awareness. As we discover how to embrace the feelings that come with emotions without letting them run our lives we get to experience the best of both worlds. We get to feel the highs, ride through the lows, bask in the middle and recognize our lives as complete. This requires us to become, what I call, The Involved Observer. Much of what I write about in the book It’s All About Me revolves around recognizing what is propelling our lives. Click on the cover below to read a sample, then order your own copy. And enjoy your emotions!
