Reflections

Please log in or Create a Profile to post a comment.

  1. Ose
    Ose
    2 weeks ago

    Something changes concerning my full spectrum of feelings, in a sense that, having experienced them deeply since childhood, there is something like a turning point which clearly appears now. How to describe it, as it is quite fresh? I had lost orientation, lately even physically in how to moving on and was almost lost in despair, doing my best to linger through what was possible. There is a clear light I am following, which is the True Heart, and there is something inside of me which knows and is able and allowed to perceive if it is present, or not. This is completely differen from feelings or emotions. For a long time, it ws as if I had no choice than to follow to convert early imprinted despair through my will in order to open my heart which had to close early in my life, and in this process, I went through the full spectrum of my feelings. In a way, this is finishing now. What this means, I don´t know, but sense it clearly. It is deeply joyful and actually a surprisingly still process to find the heart back in myself, that this is my “guiding star”, only beginning but a treasure of sorts to me, as I felt so lost. I honor all the feelings which came along for so long by now letting them go and hope it will lead to community with people of heart one day. Love and Peace to all who come to visit and to share here, and beyond.

    1. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      2 weeks ago

      Thank you, dear Ose for this writing. 🙏

    2. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      2 weeks ago

      ”There is a clear light I am following, which is the True Heart, and there is something inside of me which knows and is able and allowed to perceive if it is present, or not. This is completely different from feelings or emotions.”

      This ‘thing’ that you speak of,
      dear Ose . . .
      I understand it
      and can describe it no better than you.
      It has been my guiding salvation too. ♥

  2. Robin Ann
    Robin Ann
    2 weeks ago

    My faith supports me. It is healthy to feel the full spectrum of emotions and try to understand them. Like Katrina said, as a child I had to hide my emotions a great deal. My father just could not deal with it and would shut them down. I am grateful for having the opportunity to express myself in a healthy way and teach my children the same. ✨

  3. Cathie
    Cathie
    2 weeks ago

    I live in the tension between honoring my feelings and “wallowing” in my feelings.
    I try to feel them, honor, honestly understand and positively respond to my feelings.
    And what supports me in that process is my inner voice.
    On the other hand, I try to not hold-on to, or revisit the feeling over and over, once healing or learning is progressing.
    Not sure if this makes sense.

    1. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      2 weeks ago

      It does,
      dear Cathie. ♥

  4. Charlie T
    Charlie T
    3 weeks ago

    I feel everything pretty deeply. I’m not sure I need support in this. Luckily, I’m not too boxed into gender stereotypes. It’s true, I don’t cry that much. In fact it’s very rare. It hasn’t always been true. My childhood was full of tears.
    I am learning to view my feelings like clouds passing by. They come and go, and I’m still here. Light and dark, sunshine and rain. When I started this journey, I kept reading the word “equanimity” and I had to look up the meaning.
    This is what the old Merriam-Webster has to say:
    “If you think “equanimity” looks like it has something to do with “equal,” you’ve guessed correctly. Both “equanimity” and “equal” are derived from “aequus,” a Latin adjective meaning “level” or “equal.” “Equanimity” comes from the combination of “aequus” and “animus” (“soul” or “mind”) in the Latin phrase aequo animo, which means “with even mind.” English speakers began using “equanimity” early in the 17th century with the now obsolete sense “fairness or justness of judgment,” which was in keeping with the meaning of the Latin phrase. Equanimity quickly came to suggest keeping a cool head under any sort of pressure, not merely when presented with a problem, and eventually, it developed an extended sense for general balance and harmony.”
    Yeah, I would say that, all my practices (and meds!) are helping me live a life with more equanimity. Ups and downs are still happening, just not quite as dramatic as before. Bliss, joy, and heartbreak are all there, but I’m able to be a bit more of an observer. This is a welcome development.

    1. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      My emotions
      have also calmed down over the years,
      dear Charlie,
      and I’ve also learned,
      as you have,
      that
      they are what they are. ♥

  5. Kathy29496
    Katrina
    3 weeks ago

    I think my own God-given wisdom supports me in honoring the full spectrum of my feelings. For me, the feeling that I was not allowed to feel in childhood was anger. I’m not sure why – maybe my mother was angry enough for all of us and it scared me. In any case it wasn’t until my mid-thirties that I “got in touch with” anger and it has to some degree become a Pandora’s Box. Many times tears accompany my anger. And tears accompany my laughter. Sometimes tears leak out when I’m feeling under the weather. I wonder, if gathering tears in a tear bottle was still a custom, how many jars would I have? I am grateful that my mother, in her later years, also had a healthy sense of humor, which all of us acquired. So, back to the beginning, I think my own God-given wisdom has helped me support the full spectrum of my feelings – and I am full of gratitude for that.

    1. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      I do my best
      to let the storm die down
      before expressing my anger,
      dear Katrina,
      and try to temper it
      with what Charlie referred to
      as equanimity. ♥

    2. Charlie T
      Charlie T
      3 weeks ago

      Yes, anger is a tricky emotion. I’m still trying to figure that one out. What should I do with anger? Expressing it can be perilous.

  6. V
    Valerie Suszynski
    3 weeks ago

    Honestly me. But truthfully the people I surround myself with, animals, nature, and music give me the most.

  7. Carol Ann Conner
    Carol Ann Conner
    3 weeks ago

    Gratefulness has helped me and always honor the full spectrum of my feelings. I share an entry from my 2023 journal

    Tears from 2023 Journal
    I believe with all my heart that Life with a capital “L” is trustworthy but there are times when I grow weary and tired of learning and I weep. I just want relief. I doubt my ability to hang on. It’s at those times that I need to let go. Medical intuitive Carolyn Myss offers this short prayer: “I surrender. Reach me any way you can.”

    I found this poem on FACEBOOK. I copied it into my 2023 Journal

    Tears
    Someone asked me how to dry their tears one day…
    I said to let them flow
    I meant let them pour like a storm
    Because all drying tears prematurely ever did for me was create more later
    Being sad and crying when we need to is as important for us as choosing to be happy
    When did suppression of emotion become our new normal anyway
    When did we start to say that how we felt didn’t matter and should be hidden
    When did we put on new masks to cover old masks
    I know for me it was very early in life
    I was told crying was selfish and made other people’s lives harder, it made my mother’s life harder
    What rubbish
    My mother made her own life harder through her choice of how she viewed it
    What I needed to be the purest expression of myself, and that meant being allowed to accept all of myself, tears included
    Crying doesn’t hurt you
    Not crying can hurt you a lot
    I once cried for seven hours
    I’m still breathing
    I still chose to be happy the next day
    So when you need to, let the tears go
    They dry when their purpose is met
    Posted on Facebook by Trudi Jane – Poetry, Prose & Pondering’s

    1. Patti
      sunnypatti
      2 weeks ago

      Thank you, Carol Ann. I very much appreciate this poem,

    2. Michele
      Michele
      2 weeks ago

      Thank you Carol – I liked this meaningful poem.

    3. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      What a wonderful ode to tears,
      dear Carol Ann . . .
      I strive
      to reclaim this tender privilege
      whenever I am moved. ♥

  8. D
    Drea
    3 weeks ago

    I honor that I have the capacity to experience a full spectrum of feelings. Feelings come and go (e”motion”). I can attach thoughts to them or not, and when thoughts attach, I can believe them or not. To cut myself off from the full spectrum of feelings is to cut myself off from discernment, from inner exploration, and from being fully alive.

    1. Barb C
      Barb C
      2 weeks ago

      I like breaking it down into e-motion, Drea.

  9. L
    Loc Tran
    3 weeks ago

    I have God. We have such a loving gentle forgiving God.

  10. Patti
    sunnypatti
    3 weeks ago

    My practices support me. Sitting in meditation, watching the thoughts go by. And the extended time I’ve given to slower yoga asana practices the past several months. Lots of deep stretch/yin/restorative. Sitting in particular poses can bring up a full spectrum of feelings. I have cried multiple times and allow those tears to wash away what no longer serves me.

  11. Michele
    Michele
    3 weeks ago

    My body comes to mind – crying, laughing, smiling, fear, anger. The body can release those or hold them in (which we all know is not good).

  12. Joseph
    Joseph McCann
    3 weeks ago

    Sobriety from alcohol.
    Peace, Love & Light

    1. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      Three small words,
      dear Joseph,
      to express a Really Big Deal.
      It takes great strength of heart
      to gain this daily victory. ♥

  13. S
    S V
    3 weeks ago

    allowing myself to feel without the underneath thoughts of this is too much, you’re being dramatic bcs that is just not true. all of my emotions and feelings are valid and i can feel them without any fear of them consuming me bcs i trust myself .

  14. Carla
    Carla
    3 weeks ago

    What supports me is the internal spiritual value value of integrity that encourages and empowers me to be me, all the way out to my edges. Peace to all this Wednesday. ☮️

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      3 weeks ago

      Carla, I remember saying that I was going to work on it last year in Ngoc’s absence. Through thick and thin, one thing I’m happy to say is that I held true on my word. It’s what led to the miracle last week as she’s returning home tonight.

Subscribe to Grateful Living

Give yourself the gift of free bi-monthly inspiration including uplifting articles, diverse stories, supportive practices, videos, and more, delivered with heart to your inbox.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Customize your subscription