Cherish Your Emotional World
“Acknowledge when your heart is hurting. Breathe through the pain, know that it hurts, but it will not break you.” from Hope in the Morning by Courtney Peppernell
The greatest kindness we can give ourselves is to recognize the condition of our hearts at any given moment. This is easier at some points than others.
Stopping to notice the happiness we feel when we meet our new baby nephew or the excitement when we see the Braves win the World Series is natural. We do it without knowing we’re doing it. However, pausing long enough to feel sadness or anxiety is something we naturally avoid.
Most of us recoil and emotionally run from any and all negative experiences – internal or external. We’ve learned in one way or another that to really feel the pain would not benefit us. Perhaps we believe that the more energy we give it, the more power it will have. Maybe we believe that sitting in our hurt is just wallowing in it – that it isn’t productive.
Whatever the reason or cause, we are guilty of neglecting a huge part of our emotional world.
However, when we view our hurt or pain as worthy of our attention and care, we can “go there” without fear. If it’s hurting you, it matters, and if it matters, we better settle down, look it in the eye, and deal with it. Effectively doing so will look different for each of us, but regardless of the method, the main message here is to begin to intentionally open up those long-closed boxes in your soul.
Say to yourself, “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I know how hard it was. I remember.” By truly getting in touch with our wounds, and feeling all the sensitive, raw muck of our past, we are actively healing them. It may feel unbearable at times to let it catch up to you in this way, but you will breathe again.
It will pass and when it does, you will have let light and air into those drafty corners. You will feel lighter and freer. You will know you are strong enough to get through, better for having gone through it.
I’ll end here the same way I started, by telling you that the greatest kindness we can give ourselves is to recognize the condition of our hearts at any given moment. Please give yourself that kindness.