Yesterday I was running around playing laser tag outside with my family. I hid behind a tree and waited to shoot my son as he was running by. Then this small burst of sadness came over me.
Where did that come from?
I didn’t have time to process it. I shot my son and started running again.
We laughed and had a grand time, but I couldn’t shake that subtle sadness. After we put the kids to bed I sat on the couch and stretched out my legs on the coffee table. I leaned my head back and it hit me. I felt sad because I realized that my inner bully came out while playing laser tag. I was beating myself up because I wasn’t having more fun. I was judging myself because I wasn’t being playful enough.
This made me smile. I’m noticing more of these subtle thoughts and emotions that I used to ignore. They aren’t always easy to deal with, but instead of stuffing them down and letting them fester I notice and feel it. When I practice this they lose their power over me.
It’s this time of year that can overwhelm us. There are so many emotions that Christmas time brings no matter how you celebrate, especially in these weird pandemic times. Memories come flooding back as you bite a cookie or when you go for a walk. It’s these memories that we can’t stop. They come from deep within us and usually surprise us. It’s these surprises that we don’t expect and can cause the feelings of overwhelm.
I hope you are taking time to sit down and process your thoughts and emotions. You can do this with a Dig to Fly worksheet. You can get the worksheet here. You just print it out, write down a struggle and answer the five questions. It should only take about 5 to 10 minutes. It’s this practice that will help you catch and appreciate these feelings before they overwhelm you and send you into a tizzy.
The more you can see what emotions bubble up, watch them for what they are, just thoughts, not real and concrete things that can hurt you. This is how you can fly higher. You float above these feelings and just see them all as interesting and not hurtful.
I wish you the most amazing Christmas whether you celebrate or not and I hope 2021 is filled with more love, patience and gratitude than you’ve ever had before.
Photo by Alexander Jawfox on Unsplash