BALANCING OUR EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

It can sometimes seem like the #balance of our emotional #well-being hangs on a knife’s-edge, and all it takes is a nudge to make us feel like we need to start over. We’re scared of stumbling back into negative thought #patterns and feeling spirals, so it’s tempting to protect ourselves from these ‘nudges’ by limiting our exposure to stressors.

In times of crisis and social upheaval, though, these ‘nudges’ often come in the form of news, awareness and educating oneself about what’s going on around us. So where is that fine line? The balance between ‘the news just depresses me’ and ‘it’s important to stay aware and educated so we can address the issues of our time’?

That fine line starts with our own definition of ‘balance.’ Often we mistake ‘balance’ for ‘feeling full of love and gratitude all the time.’ But one of the most transcendental aspects of the human experience is those emotions that signal to us that something isn’t right: sadness, anger, fear. 

Without these powerful emotions, inner work and #self-improvement would be impossible—they’re the catalysts that wake us up and inspire #change.

‘Balance’ is being in the flow of emotions, experiencing them fully and letting them go. It’s being able to return to love and #gratitude after experiencing anger or sadness. Most importantly, it’s trusting your ability to do so. Only when you have #faith in impermanence and your ability to re-center yourself will you be empowered to feel all of your transient human emotions fully and freely.

So educate yourself and read the news, but don’t flood yourself with stressful stimuli. Feel the anger, fear and hurt fully—they’re justified—but don’t wallow in them. Be #compassionate with yourself when you’re feeling low, and love yourself back to the #Light. Anger may inspire #change, but #Love will cement it.