September 16

”Some cause happiness wherever then go; others, whenever they go.” Oscar Wilde

In general life is good, but I still have days when I don’t feel particularly cheery. It is still difficult to allow myself to feel a little down in the dumps, depressed or sad. Yet I need to understand and remind myself that it is normal to have these unpleasant feelings…and that I need to experience them. The trick is not to hide from or ignore my emotions, but to live through them and wherever possible, figure out what is causing them. I have a tendency to want to cheer up too fast, and will look for a quick fix to get back to being “normal.” In reality my new normal is about accepting where I am and learning to focus on the present. Nothing is really good or bad, it just is. Life is not a flat line, but filled with peaks and valleys, as is my emotional state. Happiness is something advertised as the humor we should have all the time. How unrealistic, to expect that we should be “on” all the time, content with the world and everything around us each and every moment. We are complex creatures with a range of emotions for a reason. I may not want to celebrate feeling down, but it is a sobering reminder that I am human, after all.

Affirmation I will continue to be present and that means accepting my feelings as they come and go, even those that are less pleasant.