Thursday, July 15, 2021
Emotions are a secondary function of human experience, particularly negative ones. Emotions are reactive in nature, and they seem to amplify a situation, more than they seem to actually help. A situation occurs, we judge it as “bad,” then we stew and consternate about it, allowing negative emotions to grow and fester; however, the emotions will dissipate. But once they do, how do you respond? Do you open yourself up to the lessons of growth, or do you close yourself off, never to try again? For example, if you lose your intimate partner to death or to a breakup, do you give up on relationships altogether, to avoid more pain in the future? Or do you allow experience and emotions to teach you about yourself, and about what you really want in your next relationship? The labor pains of negative experience and emotions are what allows the lessons of growth and the birth of newness into your life, if you are open and receptive.
When traumatic events occur, and they will, emotional pain will arise. We cannot avoid it, fear it, or suppress it. But we can be more proactive in noticing 1.) that emotions are not the “end of the world,” and 2.) that they are the beginning of a deeper understanding of life and of ourselves. The truth of who you really are always buds from pain’s desolation, but you have to clear the mental “dust,” and to begin to search for signs of new life from within yourself. Never deny your emotions to arise, but always keep the door open for them to pass through, and to show you the way to a better path towards inner truth. Let them teach you the lessons you need to learn about who you really are, and you’ll grow wiser. Wisdom is what eventually allows negative emotions to have less of an impact on your life. Open yourself up to the grace and wisdom of challenge, and you’ll grow in ways that you never thought were even possible.