Letter: On Messy Emotions and Acceptance
I recorded a short podcast on some simple daily practices to attune us into listening to our bodies better. Here is the link
I have spent many years of my life running away from so-called ‘messy emotions’. E.g., anger, resentment, grief.
Why? The self-programmed beliefs that went something like:
- Good people don’t show messy emotions
- If you let messy emotions show, you are broken and need to be fixed
- You should be able to think your way to positivity and out of these emotions
- Everything happens for a reason
My programming made messy emotions bad and something to hide or run away from. Even worse, I was modeled positivity as a way to bypass the hard stuff.
Today, I am experiencing one such messy emotion and as my body wrestles its complexity, it wants to shut down and disconnect. I don’t want this situation or this emotion. It sucks! At the same time, it exists, is valid and is happening.
In the past, I’d have judged myself for feeling this way. But now, I regard my body’s response with compassion and…
