Ouch, World.
Life dishes it out, left and right. It’s pretty hard to take sometimes. I’m all for happy days and clear blue skies, but what to do with dark, heavy clouds?
When grief, sadness, anger, and anxiety roll in, it’s only natural to be overwhelmed, feel threatened, or let it consume us. We’re only human, after all, and our internal weather is wild with feelings that sometimes land without warning. It’s helpful to recognize a storm of emotions as perfectly normal, even holy. It arrives to say, “you have a heart.”
When you feel yourself struggling or suffering, try stepping back for a minute and showing yourself some compassion. Sometimes when feelings are noticed and acknowledged, they soften a little around the edges. It’s like nourishing yourself on a rainy day with some warm soup or tea. It doesn’t change the storm itself, but helps you feel cared for until it passes. Just notice how you feel, without judging it as wrong or bad. Make a little room for the hurt to just be there.
The feeling will pass. It always does. In the meantime, take a minute to remember what matters to you and who you want to be in the world. That’s what counts, even on dark days. While (perfectly legitimate) feelings may be out of your control, you can still make choices about what you do...even in spite of uncomfortable emotions. It’s meaningful to slow down and take care of yourself. It’s also meaningful to live in a way that honors what you stand for.
Like a sliver of sun peeking through the clouds, a storm shifts when you make space for your feelings, have compassion for yourself as a human being, and choose to live in service of what matters most to you. A big-picture point of view can help struggles feel easier.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) isn’t about making discomfort go away. Instead, it’s about allowing for unwanted feelings and choosing to carry them a little more lightly while you live a life that is meaningful to you. That’s a gift we can all give ourselves, rain or shine.