Lately I have been trying to feel my emotions more deeply. Turns out, no emotion is one-sided and basically every feeling I have exists in the tension between two or more places. Sometimes I try not to label my emotion at all. But, some days it feels better to file it in a category so I can observe it if the same feeling comes up again. Instead of naming a singular feeling, I have been working on naming the two ends of the spectrum. Above are some recent feelings that have come up for me.
I just returned from an amazing vacation and while I was thrilled to be back in my own bed, I really mourned the end of the trip and all of the experiences I had there. Holding both of those feelings at the same time seems “not allowed.” We are taught from a young age to express our feelings in single word answers, and it turns out that’s not really how the human mind / body / soul works. For every up there is a down and you can and do feel the up and the down in the exact same moment.
I would love to hear about your dueling emotions as well.