Friday, April 21, 2023
Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
How on the moment all changes!
— Edith Thomas
We’ve discarded old roles and habits; we’ve grown more confident and comfortable. Still, we don’t always feel like celebrating. Fear, anger, sadness — when are we going to be free of “feeling bad”? We all struggle at times with negative feelings. They aren’t right or wrong; we don’t choose them, and we needn’t judge or deny them. However, we can choose how we respond to our feelings.
When we’re frightened or angry, we can acknowledge what we’re experiencing; we don’t have to condemn ourselves, act on our feelings, or cling to them. When sadness or grief arises, we can simply sit with our emotions, allowing ourselves to feel them fully. They won’t overwhelm or destroy us; in fact, they will pass more quickly and easily than if we reject or stifle them.
Writing, drawing, or other forms of creative expression help us to sense our currents of feeling and allow them to flow through us. When we honor our feelings by greeting them and letting them pass, anger doesn’t turn to rage or sadness to despair. Our spirits lighten. Others in our lives perceive that they, too, are safe to feel.
Today, it’s safe for me to experience powerful feelings.
Hazelden Foundation
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