Do you know what makes you happy? Sad? Joyful? Despondent? I would argue that it is extremely important to know this (and for the other emotions) because without this knowledge you are mired in the emotion. Mired is really not a good thing, even when the emotion/feeling is happiness or some other positive.
It is only by knowing what events, activities, words, … that precipitate our response that we are able to overcome the negative and enhance the positive. We all need to be able to do this because in both cases we can become mired and we won’t grow, move on. Too much of a good thing can be just as stifling as too much of a bad thing. What do you need to move on?
I believe that the first thing that’s necessary in the moving on process is to realize that, either positive or negative, what you are feeling is really more than just a feeling. Or, at least the impacts from the feeling are more than just a feeling. Feelings are important – they give us a plethora of information, when we’re ready to realize this.
Feelings color our world at that moment with how we are viewing other aspects of our world. They impact how we process other ‘things’ because feelings are quite powerful. Recognizing this fact is only the beginning, but it is the beginning. How we express these feelings also impacts our current reality. Those around us also ‘read’ our expressing, even when we don’t say a word.
Feelings are like a pebble thrown into water. You can see the effect in the ever widening ripples. Do you see your ripples? Are you aware that your ripples impact others – positively and negatively? And recognize too that you really never successfully disguise your feelings.
