Emotions

“Emotion can be the enemy, if you give into your emotion, you lose yourself. You must be at one with your emotions, because the body always follows the mind.” - Bruce Lee

Emotions are tough to talk about and yet sometimes it’s easy. They have been labeled good and bad. They have highs and lows. Emotions are strong. People have different opinions when it comes to emotions. Some feel you should never cry. Some feel all you should ever do is cry, whether happy tears or sad. We feel different things in different ways at different times. Everyone is allowed and entitled to their opinion. No one should be shut down on how they feel because maybe that’s what works for them. My message to you today is just to say let’s not let our emotions control us. 

Our emotions are powerful and can make us forget common sense. If we wake up and our first thought is how do I feel today, you’re giving your emotion that handle. Don’t let it drive the car. You are the one in control. Instead wake up and tell yourself I’m gonna slay this day. No matter how hard yesterday was I am not going to let it break me. I am going to face my fears and win this battle. Walk-through and say I will make it. If not, Emotion is  going to want to hold on to fear, anxiety, sadness or whatever it feels like holding on to. We can’t let it keep you down. 

I see Emotions like toddlers. They will try to run you ragged and all over the place until you give them boundaries.

There’s a time to scream in delight over being promoted. But not in your friend’s face when she found out she got fired. Encourage her and give her a moment to process what’s going on with her. Then go let out your excitement. Don’t let Joy make you rub it in peoples’ faces inconsiderately. Instead share your joy by giving others a reason to be joyful. Sadness can be misunderstood for being a bad emotion. It’s good to feel through it and not avoid it. Letting it build up turns it into a volcano and you find yourself erupting all over the place with no way of stopping it. If you’re sad, feel sad. But don’t let it feel you.

Anger throws tantrums amongst other things. The Bible does say it’s okay to be angry but don’t allow it to cause you to sin. Keep it in check. It can cause a lot of damage and regrets before you even know what just happened. Irritability sometimes likes to share and pass on to others and make everyone as irritable as they are. Set that boundary. Don’t let it affect others around you. Put this one on timeout until we are able to breathe again. Remember you hold the power in your hands. 

One final note. There are emotions that are too much to bear. Extreme despair after a loss for example. There is no right way or wrong way to feel that emotion, or to go through that emotion. Don’t let anyone tell you how to mourn. That is your prerogative and yours alone. Because they cannot imagine what it’s like to be in your shoes. Your emotions are yours to deal with and yours to bear. You can use them to empathize with others or to uplift others. Let’s not bring others down or destroy others with our emotions. I’m looking at you, Anger.