Learning to Sit With My Emotions

"I am not this hair,
I am not this skin,
I am the soul that lives within."

~ Rumi

The smallest and simplest creatures on the planet move towards sources of pleasure and away from pain. Humans are no different, moving away from pain and discomfort. The problem is we can't actually move away from our emotions.

When we try to not feel some emotions, we numb ourselves out to all emotions. We deny ourselves the breadth and depth of our human experience. We ignore opportunities to heal old wounds, reinforcing patterns that we have long outgrown.

The practice of welcoming everything is one of turning towards, not away. It's a practice of treating each part of our experience with the same compassionate and curious listening, and that includes the judgements, criticisms and desire for things to be different.

I feel this today. I don't like how I feel today. I want it to be different. And I found myself writing this... I think I wrote it mostly to myself and, as much as something in me says I am the only one who feels like this, another part knows that I am not alone. This is for you.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

You Are Welcome Here

Your grief is welcome here
Your pain
The depth of your sadness
Like you can't bear a single second more
The clock ticks
One more breath
You are welcome here

I feel your rage
The power of your anger
Red, raw
Protector
Fighting for what you cherish most
One more breath
You are welcome here

Your fear is welcome here
Your anxieties
Frozen
Fleeing
Welling up from the depths
One more breath
You are welcome here

I see your struggles
Your numbness and overwhelm
Your shame
The sheer exhaustion
Keeping it all together
One more breath
You are welcome here

The struggles are real
I'm tired and scared
And I am tired of telling myself that
Being tired or scared is weakness
Tired of feeling ashamed for struggling
One more breath
You are welcome here

Don't close, my tender heart
The pull is strong
To block out the world
It's a trap
Don't close
One more breath
You are welcome here

You are so welcome here
All of you
The dark and the light
I will not close to you
I will open my heart and throw my arms around you
One more breath
You are welcome here

I stand in the storm
Brave enough
to show up in my mess
Open, listening
Loving
One more breath
You are welcome here

If any of this resonates with you, I'd really love to hear from you. Let's not be alone.