They are not yours alone.

When I was younger, I would have these bouts of sadness, that I couldn’t connect to anything.

So my mind would try to find things to attribute it to- but it never felt totally honest.

And the sadness was still there.

We can certainly say that’s hormones, and a variety of factors that lead to a physiological state.

But as I’ve gotten older, and more connected to what’s actually happening within me, and in the world...

I’ve started to notice that these bouts of sadness are actually connected to the sadness I see in others, and feel from the world.

You know that moment when someone casually mentions that their parent passed away, or they are dealing with an illness, or they have been intensely heartbroken..

And you know they can’t dive into the intensity of what they just said because they are in public, or perhaps they’ve built a mechanism that has them not feel that anymore...

But you feel it.

But if you were to feel the depth of every word that was spoken,
Every news story that was told,
You might explode with all that to hold.

So you tuck it in like they have.

Well
I’ve noticed that when the bouts of sadness come, they actually come with so many stories.
So many pieces of experiences that have yet to be felt.
By me, and by others.

Now, I’m always a fan of a good cry.
But more so, I’m sharing this to offer that what you might be feeling is not solely yours.
It’s not yours to be held alone.
It’s not a personal emotion, aimed just at you.

It’s a felt experience.
It’s all the things we don’t feel because we can’t.
It’s all the things we push away to keep going, to seem put together, or to figure things out.
It’s all the things that we graze over, so as not to feel more pain in someone else’s words.

But these feelings are inherently human.
And if we are to be good humans, we must feel them.
Not for our own emotional indulgence (although- again, enjoy the tears),
But for our collective ability to move through the stuckness.
To actually care for ourselves and each other, in the incredible ways that humans can.

So,
Just another message to feel your feelings.
But perhaps remembering that they are not yours alone.

♥️