Dealing with Difficult Emotions

“For there is never anything but the present, and if one cannot live there, one cannot live anywhere.” – Alan Watts

It can be difficult to hold emotion, but running from it and repressing it can deepen it and strengthen its power. There are periods throughout the week where I feel isolated, frustrated and annoyed. If I immediately responded to every single negative emotion that came up, I would damage the relationships I have with my colleagues, girlfriend, and especially my 12 week old puppy. By going inward and holding space for these emotions, we can enhance our awareness of them and independently investigate their origin. Through this practice of detached observation, we can soften the voices and the impact they have on us. 

When we experience challenging emotions, it’s important that we create a container within us with which we can hold our emotions so we don’t become emotionally blocked. A strong container within us that we can rely on helps us handle whatever comes up. By sitting with your emotions and allowing them to live within this impenetrable space, you strengthen your emotional resiliency and mindfulness muscles. If you sit with what comes up long enough, you might even notice a softening throughout your body. When we learn to offer space, tenderness and acceptance for our emotions, we tap into a SuperPower and this SuperPower allows us to be with anything no matter how hard or scary it feels.

The art of mindfulness is about elongating the time between a certain stimulus and our response to that stimulus. The longer we can sit with how that stimulus makes us feel, the more intentional and purposeful our response becomes. Learn how to build a container for yourself so that you can learn to be with what is hard, what is scary and what hurts. Through practice and repetition, you’ll learn to face it all with openness.

Have a Fantastic Friday!