Feel What You Feel
We spend so much energy trying not to feel what we feel.
Dear Friend,
Feel what you feel.
We spend so much energy trying not to feel what we feel. So much precious energy, wasted.
Trying to not feel is head-work. It’s the work of trying to convince the mind to ignore something which the body is experiencing. The only real result is numbness.
We are meant to feel. We are made to feel. Trying not to feel is going against our own nature—against nature itself.
This is where much of our pain comes from. As a culture, we are experiencing the chronic pain which results when a feeling being tries not to feel.
Alcoholism. Workaholism. Addictions. Drug abuse. Abuse of others and ourselves... these are tools we use to avoid feeling.
We'd rather be numb than feel uncomfortable. So we take the pill. We drink the drink. We pick up the device.
Picking up one’s phone to avoid discomfort isn’t so bad as an isolated occurrence. But when it becomes a way of life—when there is more numbness than feeling—we’ve traded away our life.
What’s needed now is courage.
Today is full of uncomfortable feelings. That’s true. But let’s be honest—sometimes fun is uncomfortable. Sometimes joy is uncomfortable. Excitement can be uncomfortable.
Maybe comfort isn’t such a worthwhile motivation after all. Maybe discomfort is actually an indicator that we're truly alive!
Ultimately, we can’t not feel what we feel. We can ignore it. But it’s always there.
Are we willing to make a change?
Be courageous today—feel what you feel.
Today, when you notice discomfort, pause. Stay there. Is it actually painful, or are you anticipating pain? What is your next move? Is it to numb the feeling? In this moment, you will choose whether or not to be truly alive.
Instead of running away, stay right here. Feel it even more.
Can you see how so much of your pain has been coming from your thoughts about your feelings, rather than the feelings themselves?
Notice how inviting yourself to feel what you’re feeling actually deepens your experience of life.
Notice the way others around you respond when you shift from numbing life to embracing it.
Be here. Be alive. Feel what you feel.
—Nathan
Originally posted at: https://nathanpeterson.net/feel-what-you-feel/