Sudden Sadness

Today has been one of those days. I woke up plagued by low-level discontent, wanting to cry, feeling lonely, and immediately thought, I have to do something to get out of this. As if I’m Houdini and every negative emotion is an opportunity for a sleight of hand or a Great Escape.

Sure, I have tools in my emotional tool belt – meditation, EFT, journaling, yoga, prayer. But what about the tool of acceptance?

I never have a positive feeling (joy, happiness, peace, love, contentment, passion, lust…) and think, I have to do something to get rid of all this positivity. What’s more, experience has taught me that, if I want the “good” emotions, I have to be willing to suffer through the others. Giving myself permission to be a deeply emotive person means being open to the full spectrum of sensations. There aren’t any feelings that shouldn’t be felt. They’re all simply messages. Some, I endure. Others, I enjoy.

Don’t get me wrong. If I’m sad for more than a few days in a row, I need to make a change in either my attitude of my actions, but bad days happen, loneliness arises, depression bubbles up. Rather than fighting these feelings, it helps to embrace them. Acknowledge them. Ask if they have something to tell me. If they do, great. If not, I can put one foot in front of the other, get on with life, and know that, for every emotion, there’s another one right behind it.