I apologize if this email takes on a somber mood today. Yesterday afternoon we learned of the death of a 24 yr old young man who was a friend of the family. Well, to say friend of the family is not really strong enough of a word. To my dad this young man and his two siblings were like adopted grandchildren. This young man was always kind and would give you he shirt off his back. His death has been overwhelming and shocking to say the least. How could this happen?
Regardless of what happened or why, today I am focusing on the task of being more aware of our emotions and allowing ourselves to feel our emotions.
What happens when we don't allow ourselves to feel emotions (regardless if they are good or bad)? First, we bottle it up inside ourselves. Then we try to avoid feeling them or repress the feeling and deny that we feel that way to others. Regardless of if its good and happy or exciting feelings or sad, negative feelings, if we keep it all inside, it affects us physically for a longer amount of time than if we allow the emotions to occur. When you bottle up happy and good feelings, the excitement is enough to make you sick to your stomach. When you bottle your unhappy feelings physically you also can become sick to the stomach, exhausted, drained, and even bitter.
We have to allow ourselves to feel feelings...to feel emotions. Letting out our emotions allows for health and better capability to deal with the same issues should they occur in the future. Why not go out to a field and let out a good yell or scream at the top of your lungs? Why not hug someone (appropriately of course) when you are happy? Why not cry when you feel sad?
Today, I am going to allow myself to feel the emotions of dealing with all the things that have occurred in my life over the last week. I am going to be happy about decisions that I have made over the last week, I am going to be frustrated about things beyond my control, and I am going to be sad about the loss of such a great young man.
Jacob...we'll miss you.
I do know that I am a rather emotional person for a guy. I can shed a tear easily as I do feel emotions quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing for me is to share how I feel, especially about someone. I tell my granddaughters, and grandson, that I love them, and I think that they're great. But that is just not done enough. I'm thinking that I said it enough when I'm with them. But after I leave, I realize that I missed many opportunities. Why did I miss them? I felt awkward at the time. The reason I say this is that at times they just do things that make me feel so close to them. And then, I just don't know what to say, except to just enjoy the moment of that special time.
I have felt very sad for your family's loss this week. I may not have known Jacob but I know you and your parents. My heart breaks to think that such a young person's life ended.
ReplyDelete