Joy and Sadness

I've been pretty quiet with my thoughts lately. Watching all of the chaos around me, feeling it within me, and hiding from it at times. I used to hide from my emotions a lot. Afraid to feel anger, sadness, or pain. I would turn away from it and bury it deep within. I did this so well that it started to destroy my body a few years ago.

When we turn away from our emotions and we don't express them, we are only hurting ourselves. That emotion will stay there lingering and waiting for you to acknowledge it. It will eventually destroy a part of you if you don't. We are in this human experience to feel our emotions. Turning away from them is discrediting our own humanity. It's telling us that we are unworthy to feel anything at all. It's taking away a piece of us bit by bit.

As humans we are afraid to feel anything but, Joy. But, how does only feeling joy help anyone to grow? If you have ever seen the movie Inside Out, you will understand what I'm talking about. Joy couldn't exist with out sadness. If we never feel sad, then we could never know joy. If we were never afraid, we would never know what courage feels like. If we were never angry, we would never know what forgiveness is. If we never felt betrayal, we would never know what loyalty is. If we never felt pain, we would never know compassion. Why do we shame the negative emotions and experiences that help us?? Why do we see this as wrong, as dark, or as evil?

To me, nothing is ever right or wrong, black or white, light or dark. To me, everything is a lesson or experience. To me, we are all equal. To me, your beliefs do not matter. Because, I choose to love you despite our differences. If we were all the same, it would be a very boring place to be. So, I ask you to please be respectful of differences. Everyone has their own unique path. Lets stop judging and love each other dammit!

I am very proud of so many of my friends, my family members, and myself. All of the chaos has really helped people start standing up for themselves, their loved ones, and every minority in this country. Its helped people who have been afraid to speak up, to finally do so. It's helping people finally become aware of the emotions that they buried deep within.

If we aren't here to feel, then what are we here for??