The Importance of Giving Yourself Permission to Feel

  It is incredibly important that we give ourselves permission to feel all the feelings, any of the feelings, and recognize and name them.  Especially at a time like this amidst unpredictability and disorder in our world.  When we don’t give ourselves permission, we probably will try to talk our way out of feeling something, ignore it, bury it, distract ourselves so we don’t feel it.  We are going to have so many different feelings on this rollercoaster right now of emotions, and all of them are okay and completely normal. To allow ourselves to feel, we have to sit still, slow down, notice, take the time, then the emotions will rise.  Pay attention.  Explore them.  Let your body feel and acknowledge them.  Name them.  Now realize that you are normal for feeling this way because nobody knows how to feel or what to do right now, and we are all anxious and worried and in a new unknown territory with no road maps and GPS endpoint.  What we thought was invincible is not.  What we thought wouldn’t or couldn’t happen in America, in a first world country, a world superpower, is happening.  And we don’t have control over it.  We only have control over our response to it, how we live our day to day life but so much is out of our control as average citizens. So much changed in one week. I started a business last week – crazy timing, I know. And COVID-19 hit hard and we are supposed to be social distancing and staying home.  I don’t like all the things happening and I sure don’t like the timing, but I truly know when I slow down and feel all the feelings, that there is a future, there is hope, this is temporary.  This too shall pass.  There is a lesson to learn.  There are blessings right now, even right now.  Especially right now. I feel small in a great big world with a great big pandemic.  I feel connected in a great big world full of open, healing, loving, creative, brave hearts and minds that are working on this and in this together, for the greater good.  It’s less about me and all about US.  I feel humbled that my go-getter, conquer the mountain plans have come to a little bit of a halt or a slow down.  I need to stay here, be here right now, just where I’m at.  In uncertain, anxious, exciting, scary, beautiful unknown territory.  What I do know, and always know, is that there is hope.  Always hope. There is a power and universe that is so much bigger than the current problem, however big it is right now.  When there is darkness around you, the little lights around you are so so bright.   4 Steps to Giving Yourself Permission to Feel

1. Know that all feelings - the full range - are okay and normal.
2. Give yourself time and space to breathe, sit in the quietness of yourself and reach around, exploring the feelings that are there.  Let them rise up and notice them, recognize them.
3. Name them or verbalize them or write about them.  Either internally, in writing or with a trusted, supportive confidante, partner or friend.  Then move about fluidly throughout your day in the way that seems most connected and true.