How to Embrace Your Emotions & Feel Your Way Through Life

There is this idea out there that as long as you keep a positive outlook on life, everything will be okay. The fact of the matter is that this is a TOTAL misconception. Life is not about being positive 24/7. Life is about living in the present moment, whatever that moment may be, and living each moment out to its fullest. Happiness is something that most people are constantly chasing after in life, just hoping that one day it will stumble upon them; but what some fail to realize is that happiness is not guaranteed. What I have learned, though, is that emotions are guaranteed. While they may be extremely unpredictable at times, I truly think that they are a blessing and what makes life worth living.

Emotions can be a very, dare I say it, emotional topic, and one that a lot of people try to avoid. Through many of my past experiences I have, when it really comes down to it, been forced to face my emotions dead on. To sit with them. To let them be. To revel in them. To wallow in them. To take them in. To release them. To embrace them. To work through them. From this, I learned how to better read my emotions, and, as a result, respond to them appropriately. For those who don’t take this time or allow themselves the space to figure their emotions out, and by that I mean really sit with them, they may feel overwhelming and hard to handle.

If you really want to learn how to get to the bottom of your emotions, you must be willing to do the work, while also coming to terms with the fact that you will not always love what you are feeling. It may seem easier just to ignore what you're feeling, but that is a heavy weight to bear, and one that often leads us into even more complex emotions and a fragile mental state. We all know that if we keep all those different emotions bottled up inside of us that they will eventually build up to the dreaded point where we can’t take them anymore, we lose control, and explode. If you decide that you are ready to confront your emotions, the most important thing to remember is that, whatever you are feeling, YOUR FEELINGS ARE VALID. No one can tell you how to feel. There is no right or wrong feeling. Feelings are all about how YOU interpret them. Simple as that.

You can, however, take CONSCIOUS action to influence your emotions, and similarly your mindset. Your perspective on life is something that you have control over, something you can manifest. Recently, I adopted and embraced this idea that you must find every opportunity to romanticize your life; so much so that I now refer to romanticizing life as my personal philosophy. What does this mean? How you interpret this may look different, but, for me, this comes down to living in the present. With EVERY emotion that comes my way, I accept it. I step back, check myself, release any expectations, and welcome the moment for what it is; a gift. Life is so beautiful and, you’ve heard it before, has SO MUCH to offer us. It is up to us to slow down, center ourselves, be present, and begin to not only notice the simple things in life, but appreciate them. In the end, they really are the big things in life and what makes life worth living.

If our life is a compilation of each and every moment that we live through, then is it not also true that the only way to get the most out of life is to get the most out of all the moments that make it up?

Feel your way through life. Make every day count. Dive head first into your emotions, despite their unpredictability. The quality of your life is directly correlated to the amount of uncertainty you can comfortably live with. Your life is up to you. I don’t know about you, but when I get to the end of my life, whenever that may be, I don’t want to say that I survived, that I made it through. I want to look back and KNOW that I embraced my life for all that it was and EVERYTHING that it made me feel. The good and the bad, the happy and the sad. A numb life, is a dumb life. After all, I would rather feel than feel nothing at all. So, keep showing up, and show love to yourself and all that you experience as you go through the process. While it may not always be perfect, it will 100% always be yours. I believe in you.

Xx,

Leah Kutsch

P.S. Keeping IIN Touch