Riding the Wave of Emotions

Have you ever felt that perhaps the safest way to interact with your emotions is to avoid them, numb them, or suppress them?

But have you ever noticed that those emotions find a way to be felt at some point anyway? Or do you find unexplainable aches in your body, that could very well be that ignored emotion storing itself? Or do you find that while you have also numbed the undesirable emotions you are also not experiencing much joy or happiness?

There is another way to interact with emotions than to avoid, numb, or suppress them.

Instead, we can lean into them.

And I will be honest, it is equally brutally difficult and abundantly beautiful. As Glennon Doyle says, it is “brutiful,” beautiful and brutal.

Many people believe that if they lean into the sadness, grief, anger, envy , etc. that comes up for them that they will never come back out.

But emotions are like a wave.

Yes, they can build up and when you lean into them they can get to a height that can feel overwhelming and scary. But, if you stick with it, if you keep leaning in, eventually that emotional wave will start to calm back down. And before you know it you will realize that emotion has passed and you are back in calm waters.

And what ensues may be quite unexpected. By choosing to lean into and ride the wave of the heavier emotions you experience, the wave of the lighter, more positive emotions also will start to reach greater heights than they ever have.

Brene Brown talks about this in her work and explains that we cannot selectively numb emotions. When you numb those more challenging emotions, you also, indirectly, numb the more positive emotions.

So, yes, you will have some times where you are in the thick of a high wave of grief, sadness, anger, envy, bitterness., etc. And at times you may feel scared being in an emotion that fully. But if you lean into and stick with the wave until it passes, then you are often met with beautiful, big waves of joy, happiness, contentment, and love.