Today I had the great fortune to share the fading rays of daylight with my good friend Carlin. We sat outside, feeling the crisp air of autumn usher us into a cozy and heartfelt decompression session.
Hesitant and uncertain starts ultimately eased into open and candid recollections about each of our recent life experiences.
We were two friends sharing the humor and complications of being human.
I told him that I wanted, “needed”, to learn to be happy on my own, by myself.
His look gave me pause. It stopped me in my tracks.
With his gentle and loving smile, he said, It’s not about learning to be happy.
It’s about learning to be okay with all of our emotions, including sadness.
I felt my brain expanding.
He continued with the fact that all emotions are valid.
That we need to accept all of our emotions without feeling trapped.
All feelings need to be recognized.
The biggest challenge is understanding why we are experiencing an emotion.
It felt so strangely liberating to hear those words.
It’s okay to be sad.
It’s okay to be mad.
Happiness isn’t the only valid feeling.
It’s okay to feel anything and everything you feel.
Just make sure to understand why, and don’t let your feelings run you.
Picture from https://unsplash.com/@elisabettafoco
