Are you openly expressing your emotions? Our emotional body and cells rejoice when we give them a healthy emotional environment within which to live. Emotional healing begins when we walk our talk and learn to express our emotions openly. I can talk and write about emotions all I want, and stay in my head, but it only leads to wellness when I’ve learned to live through expressed emotions, feeling the emotions in my body every moment of every day. I’m talking about the little things in life, the emotional stimuli we tend to take for granted.
Live Gratitude
What were you grateful for today? How did you respond to all the family system members that surround you? Did you pause to show gratitude or did you carry on with life as if nothing out of the ordinary happened? Did your intimate partner do something nice for you today? Did you have a co-worker do something to help you out on the job? Did you find everything you wanted at the grocery store? Did a client or patient send you a card, compliment you, or give you a small gift to show their appreciation? Did someone let you change lanes in busy traffic?
One way to get in touch with those shut down suppressed emotions is to stop taking life for granted. We have to learn to express our emotions one small step at a time. We learn to express them in the moment first. Then, when we have that pattern embodied within us, we can embrace the issues of the past that seem overwhelming.
Live Joy
When we consciously shift from “surviving” mode to “thriving and living life joyously” mode, we begin to teach our body, mind, spirit, and greater family system how to express emotions. We create new neuronal pathways in our brain. We let go of old patterns and ways of being.
We have become desensitized to the emotional joys and challenges in life and I suggest we change that repetitive pattern. First step is recognizing whether you celebrate life’s little joys or whether you ignore them. I experienced one of those simple joys yesterday morning when I was driving out in the country from Calgary to Cochrane. I spotted 12 deer sitting out in a snowy field in a circle within close social proximity to one another. They looked so at peace in their reclined posture with their heads popped up being attentive.
Photo by Patricia K. Robertson
Deer Standing in Deck Planter
The number 12 struck me as rather a large group together, as I tend to see only one or two on the move together. It prompted me to sort out the date and I realized it was the 12th day of the 12th month and I was meeting a friend at 12. Awesome! I love synchronicities and I suggest you be mindful to catch the connections and patterns that have meaning for you. It also brought to my mind the song The Twelve Days of Christmas and I merrily sang for the rest of the drive, doing my best to remember the words, and laughing out loud when I drew a blank. I admit I had to make up a few verses. On the 8th day of Christmas my true love sent to me, a………………!! Song and dance always bring the emotion joy into my life and they encourage me to live my emotions.
Live Gentleness
The deer took me emotionally from the routine drive into a very happy, joyous mood. They reminded me to stop taking the beauty of the drive for granted. Off in the distance I could see the Rocky Mountains majestically covered with snow. I felt the emotion of awe. A drive in the country was an opportunity to get away from city traffic, and so, I took a moment to be grateful.
There are many words symbolically linked to the deer. Beauty. Grace. Gentleness. Innocence. Kindness. Compassion. Swiftness. Elegance. Humility. Benevolence. Freshness. Watchfulness. New Perceptions. Spirituality. Re-growth. Fertility. Peace. Unconditional Love. Caring. New Growth. Creativity.
In so many ways the deer reminds us to get in touch with the simple little things in life that are the source of the most joy. Which of these words speak to your heart and spirit today? What emotion are you feeling right now?
I know I connect with many of these words. In the moment, the words new growth and creativity seem to burst forward. I know I’m moving into a new phase in my life because just last week I finally finished writing a book I’ve been working on for years. I was so excited to click on the save icon for the last time. I felt emotionally thrilled.
Live Exuberance
I really pushed myself the last few days with intensity to make it happen. I was ecstatic! I was exuberant! It felt absolutely refreshing to say, “I’m done!” Even though I was by myself, I got up and jumped for joy. I made so much noise my cats were cowering, wondering what was happening. In the past I wouldn’t have done anything to celebrate in the moment. I would have put off any celebration until later when I was around family members or friends. Today, I know I’m in touch with my emotions and I express them to the universe whether I’m alone or with others. Alas, now the big challenge of finding a publisher!! I suspect I will be expressing all kinds of emotions during that process. Life is a journey so let’s enjoy the ride!
Live Love
In allowing yourself to get in touch with your emotions, are there ways in which you can be more gentle and loving with yourself or with others? We begin to live life joyously when we stop taking life for granted and we stop being our own worst critics. Count your blessings every morning and night as you lie in bed, even for a nanosecond, rather than letting that negative self-talk bounce around in your brain. Show the emotion of gratitude at every good turn.
Live Compassion
Shift from a place filled with heavy energy like fear or hate to a place of lightness, self-love, and inner peacefulness. You can change your attitude and response to life. Accept that you are doing the best that you can and let the rest go. Allow yourself to be a human being and not a human doing. Find the emotion compassion for everyone you interact with during each day. They may appear to be cranky, impatient, or angry at you, or at life, but we don’t really know what it is they are going through in their life. We don’t know what they are experiencing emotionally behind the scenes to make them take on those heavy emotional energies. Let go of old fears and regrets and find joy in the moment. Embrace your family members and friends with love and gratitude for just being. Rejoice that they have chosen to share their life with you. In return, share your newfound joy and pleasure in life with them. The emotions of inner joy and compassion can’t help but bubble outward to everyone around you. Remember that random acts of kindness create a domino effect in others.
Are you ready and willing to openly express your emotions to yourself and to the world?