Believe it or not, when you try to hold onto any feeling, you do yourself a disservice.Most people know it's not good to be stuck in sadness, but even trying to be happy at all times is unhealthy.
Why? Because as a human, you are made to experience all emotions- even the ones you think of as negative or "bad".
Emotions are one way you know the world. You experience the world through your senses- sight, sound, taste, touch, hearing. You understand the world through what you think about it- what you have been taught, and what you have determined for yourself. You thoughts reflect how you experience the world. Your emotions also tell you about your world- what to avoid, what to continue, and what to seek out.
Let me give you some examples. There are six emotions recognized the world around- universal emotions, if you will. The facial expression for each of these emotions is the same in Hong Kong as in Poland as in Brazil. They are disgust, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, and happiness, and I like to think of them as survival emotions. Think about it, if something disgusts you (particularly in taste) it is probably bad for you, if not poisonous. Traditionally, for our ancestors, surprise actually wasn't something good, it was to be avoided. Fear and anger are responses to threats while sadness and happiness tell you about things you don't or do want to happen again, respectively. The emotions give insight into yourself and the world around you.
That is why I say you can't hold onto any one feeling without causing harm- it is like removing all but one of your senses. Do you want to go through life only being able to taste?
This week's work: Recognize when you are trying to stop a new feeling and hold onto another. Learn from each emotion you have; what can each teach you? Talk with your partner about your feelings and what they tell you about you and your relationship.
Cats from HdO~Helene on Flickr
This is a test of the emergency commenting system. I have been getting feedback the comments are difficult to navigate, so I'm trying it out. If this had been an actual comment I would have said something useful!
ReplyDelete=Kim
Interesting. I have not considered "Your emotions also tell you about your world- what to avoid, what to continue, and what to seek out." with much thought.
ReplyDeleteHumor enabled: "Those who research and write about diseases could become ill-literate." #pun
Wow, great post. New point of view and insightful.
ReplyDeleteI often think of this from the opposite perspective where people don't want to feel their feelings. Feelings are fluid and a part of you. We always want the best parts to show, but sometimes, it's the parts we don't want others to see is how we connect.