Letting Emotions Pass is Easier Said Than Done
Some feelings threaten to overwhelm us.
Sometimes emotions are a wave. Sometimes they’re a cloud. They come and go, passing over us.
Eventually they recede into the distance.
We are reminded of this, the nature of emotions, by psychologists (guilty). By yoga instructors. By coaches.
It’s a pretty good way to frame and experience feelings.
But the waves, they can come at you hard when you weren’t looking, knocking you violently underwater, where scary seconds of held breath feel like forever.
Eventually, you emerge. Coughing with a face full of sand, sometimes unable to recover before the next pummeling roar arrives.
Same with emotional clouds.
They are not always white and fluffy, gently passing overhead. They are steely grey, hanging low with humidity, making it hard to breathe.
They come at you crackling with thunder and electricity, lighting up the dark sky.
Advice to let such complex emotions pass like waves or clouds doesn’t take into consideration how big the swells are or how ominous the sky looks…
And how incredibly hard it is to let them be.
It seems they will never leave.
You want to leave, though.
And that avoidance strengthens the emotional surge.
Fighting the waves or ignoring the storm clouds makes for a much worse experience.
We fight sometimes. Of course we do.
Because, wow. It hurts. And it’s scary.
Instead of “letting them pass,” perhaps it is more reasonable to pay attention to them.
Feel the strength of the ocean tides and watch the shifting darkness in the sky. What’s it like to be whomped with a wave and drenched by a storm cloud?
Observe what is happening. Drop your fists and look around. Curiosity helps reduce the struggle. Isn’t that interesting.
And soon,
or soon enough,
Even the fiercest feelings will pass.
kek
Note: This post was initially published on my Medium site.
Check out the reel version on Instagram.
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