The Messy
We are all emotional bundles of feelings. Of raw, gut wrenching punches, of grief, anger, anxiety, and doubt. Around us in a constant swirl of sparkly beauty, flows a cornucopia of joy, happiness, love and appreciation. We ebb and flow, in the river of sensitivity. Tumbling down stream, no anchor, no sails. Not even a dock to moor at.
Oceans vast and turbulent, often drag us out to sea. We know there, we will have to engage in survival mode, and thus our emotions come forth often in an aggressive way. Others notice when we are tossing and taking on water, in a mid-Atlantic storm.
But when we are bobbing in the clearer waters of the stream, we are less likely to surrender to our emotion. We are more likely to row our kayak, because we know we won't capsize any time soon. We see the edges, of our mood and know we can reach shore, even after some rapids.
Mental health is not a simple choice between river rafting or ocean sailing. It is understanding the situation in which we find ourselves stranded. When we drop our compass overboard, as we try to level the keel. We all deal with our feelings in different ways. As Glennon Doyle says "Feelings are for feeling." We all feel, but sometimes we choose to keep our feelings, barnacles on the bottom of our boats.
The Mental
These days we are all feeling every emotion imaginable. We have to remember it is healthy to feel. It is essential, to allow ourselves, the ability to see the world around us and react to it. To accept the fact, that we will have moments of shame, desire, fear and disgust- mingled in with contentedness, wonder, comfort and delight. It is important that we don't neglect any of them.
Each of our emotions is a part of us, like a limb. To stay healthy we have to accept the bad with the good. We might not shout from the roof tops- I am a jealous, envious, greedy person at this moment so run away- fast. But, we have to accept that we feel them. They are not phantom limbs- they are active appendages, that if we do not deal with, can go awry very quickly.
Our feelings are not comparative with someone else's. Our mood swings are our own to contend with. In this time of isolation, we often try to build a reservoir in front of us and a dam to back our emotions up behind, so we don't have to deal with them. In other words, we feel guilty about feeling them. Another emotion. We are full of them.
Miraculousness
Mental health is an important topic these days. Talking about how we feel is just the beginning. It takes an awareness of ourselves. To understand why we are anxious and happy, at the same time. Why we are relieved and fearful, simultaneously. We are in transition mode and the need to surrender to the flow, is a necessary byproduct of the process. But with it comes a deluge of emotion- often swirling, in a flood we have no warning of.
All we can do is pause.
Face the voices all screaming at us, in our heads. And listen to ourselves. That is the only way we can get through this. Listen, talk to people, write, and read other authors, as they express their feelings. Just connect and build bridges. That is the messy, mental, miraculousness, of a positive mindset.
Knowing negativity lurks, but having the forethought to keep a paddle nearby, so we can steer through the squall.
It's going to get windier before the westerlies calm. So listen for the warning signs and prepare for the gusts. You got this!
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