Not Every Feeling Needs Fixing

It’s natural to want to fix everything uncomfortable and to do it as quickly as possible. It’s something we all do as humans in our attempt to control the mood and the situation to find our way back to happiness. When we are anxious, our minds tell us we should find the way to solve it. If we are sad, we try and find ways to take our minds off of what is causing the sadness. And if we feel uncertain, we are instructed to find the meaning to resolve the concern. But not every feeling needs to be solved at the exact moment it is discovered, realized, or acknowledged.

Emotions are signals that something inside of us is looking for attention. Something is going on within us that our body is alerting us to in hopes that we can address it. This again, is natural. For some reason, however, the world may tell us to “fix” the emotion that is causing the problem. But I don’t think that is always the best solution. Sometimes the problems we acknowledge are not something that need to be eliminated. Perhaps they are simply experiences for us to encounter and to recognize.

Emotional recognition is a beginning step of awareness and understanding ourselves with honesty. It is a simple act of taking a moment to clearly notice what we actually feel before we can rush to write it off through some explanation. I think this becomes difficult because (and this is a hard truth), sometimes it may reveal things that we will not be happy about. For example, that awareness may reveal disappointment. It may expose exhaustion. Sometimes it reveals that the good life we think we are living isn’t as aligned with who we are or who we want to become. None of these make for good or comfortable realizations….but they are honest.

Allowing a pause to give ourselves permission to sit with our feelings, if even for a few minutes, something important can happen. Our minds, still in “fight or flight”, becomes less defensive. We unarm that brashness because we are removing that need to escape the feeling. It becomes more manageable. The issue didn’t change, but how we choose to respond does.

When we learn to fall back from that, this is a Kind Rebirth. You are returning to a more gentle nature, one that promotes intellectual curiosity of awareness over impulse. In this space, understanding begins to form. Not every emotion is meant to stick around forever; but every emotion is a message and signal that it is time for us to learn a new lesson.

Consider not rushing to change every experience. It may lead you to a clearer pathway to a more compassionate resolution through understanding. And understanding is a key ingredient that begins with recognition.

Stay mindful….

Rebirth.