Pull Up a Chair
“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.”
We spend so much of our lives trying to outrun the heavy stuff. We are told to stay positive and keep moving. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is just stop and pull up a chair for your feelings.
Sitting with your emotions isn't about wallowing or getting stuck. It is actually about giving yourself the space to breathe. When we stop fighting what we feel, we stop wasting all that energy on resistance.
The first step is simply naming what is happening. Are you actually angry, or are you just exhausted? Is it sadness, or is it a bit of loneliness? When we label the feeling, it loses some of its power over us. It is okay to tell yourself that it makes sense to feel this way. You aren't wrong for having a human reaction to life.
We are so quick to judge ourselves. We think joy is good and sadness is bad; they are really just internal weather patterns. Sadness isn't a failure of character. It is just a cloud passing through. If you can let it exist without judging yourself for it, the cloud usually moves on a lot faster.
If your mind is racing, try to drop down into your body instead. Where are you holding that tension? Is it in your chest or your shoulders? Sometimes just noticing the physical sensation helps you stay present without getting swept away by the story your mind is telling you.
Emotions are a bit like waves. They build up, they peak, and then they eventually wash back out to sea. The trouble starts when we try to block the wave. If you just sit on the sand and let it wash over you, you will realise that you are still standing when it is over.
Today, if things feel heavy, go for that walk. Get in the water and swim. Write down the messy thoughts that don't make sense yet. You don't have to fix your sadness right this second. You just have to be kind to yourself while you are feeling it.
Pull up a chair. You have got this.
