KEEP CALM!
Emotions are an intrinsic part of the human experience, let’s not supress them.
KEEP CALM!!! BE PEACEFUL!!! SILENCE IS POWER!!! So many of these presumably inspiring statements floating around, often leaving people to feel guilty for not feeling zen whilst battling through their mind and body’s reaction to endless surprises that life throws their way.
These statements can be useful at particular moments as a reminder to stop, breathe and stay in control. Being calm, at peace, and silent certainly help in focusing our thoughts and our physical state. However, as a day-to-day experience, they’re void of the array of human emotions that serve us as an outlet of physical stress, as a warning of potential harm and as a celebration of the wonders of life.
Ah, but the anger! THE ANGER!! It gets in the way! We make decisions in haste, we say things maybe better left unsaid, we expose our weakness. And the feeling inside our body goes from hot to boiling to cold, strong winds and storms rage in our mind, head pressures, stomach cramps. What’s good about that!?!?!?! There is good! Someone just touched on something that is SO IMPORTANT to you and now you know.
From a physical point of view, your body fills with adrenaline and it’s ready to ACT NOW. Let it! Let it make use of the energy that’s filled up. Engaging in a physical activity, be it running, swimming, walking, dancing, crazy-cleaning the house, will allow your body to release excess energy whilst simultaneously giving time for your mind to work out what’s important, why it’s important and how you want to deal with it in a manner that keeps the important things safe.
Oh, but the despair… the unbearable sadness and sorrow. They just make us sink and wallow about pasts we cannot change. They throw us into deep reflections, pondering and wondering what has happened and what will be. But these reflections are so important, uncomfortable as they may be. They allow us to review the story of our life, find closure for the chapters that are no longer relevant and build on the new chapter we need to begin. It is an opportunity to appreciate what in our past made us who we are and allow that bit to rest in peace, now is the time for the present.
Our body may feel drained from thoughts or tears. This is the time for deep breaths and small mindful movements forward. Notice things anew, appreciate the presence of things and people in your life whom you love. Look up, see the sky and the sun and the different shaped clouds, see the tops of the trees and the birds hiding between the leaves. When you look up physically, things start looking up emotionally.
Eeeek! The Excitement! People will think I’m ridiculous as I talk too fast, erratically jump between places, people and topics of conversations. But it’s just that there is so much joy bursting out, I don’t actually want to contain it, it feels so good! As it should. Smiles are contagious, laughter is contagious, a positive outlook on life can also be contagious. Sharing these emotions with those around you can be wonderful, as long as you share them with humility. Be grateful for the good fortune that has come your way. Be mindful that lecturing people to seek the path of good fortunes as you have, may not be what helps them join your excitement and may not be the journey that works for them. The simple act of sharing your joys with love and humility may bring hope to others, motivating them to find their own way to their own exciting good fortunes.
Allow the warm feelings to embrace your body from within, allow the sparks of thoughts and motivation to get you doing whatever needs to be done, allow the smiles from within remind you how wonderful and valuable and important you are to those around you and the world at large.
The human experience was not intended to be a calm, peaceful or silent observation of the world, only interacting when you’re in an ideal state of tranquillity. The emotions give us information about what is important to us in life, they enable us to lay the past down to rest and rejuvenate for the future. The emotions are the sparks of life, they motivate us, they move us, they bind us together or split us apart, they highlight our true meaning, our true values, and our true purpose in life.
An emotionful life is worth living.