Here’s the thing, the road to empowerment is not always an easy breezy summer day. A lot of the time it’s more 
akin to an unpredictable storm. With the recent barrage of unstable weather both locally and globally I can’t help but notice how the weather mirrors human emotions in so many ways. What if we treated our emotions more like we do the weather? We can’t control the weather, we don’t judge the weather it’s just a part of nature. When you begin taking responsibility for your actions and reactions you can no longer blame your emotional state on others. This can sometimes be a very unsettling realization. It’s tempting to try and judge ourselves harshly for these reactions which can be more damaging than simply feeling it and letting it go.
I for one have been feeling a mixture of bliss, fear, anxiety, excitement, anger, joy, gratitude, love and sadness lately. They come for a variety of reasons, in any given order and sometimes happen simultaneously?!?! I noticed it other day when a wicked thunderstorm hit my area. I was terrified and excited as the sky blackened and the thunder slammed. I was fascinated by the hail in awe of Mother Nature’s power. I screamed in fear and laughed as I tried to take pictures of the surreal scene. Finally I felt relieved when the humidity lifted and I could breathe again
I TRY not to judge myself for the wild roller coaster of emotions I experience on any given day. I choose to look at it as being passionate or living in the moment, and most days I enjoy feeling things deeply. I’m choosing to feel an emotion, let it run right through me and then let it go without judgment. Easier said than done but it’s worth a try. If you want to practice this, no problem, you don’t have to look too far for teachers. Watch young children closely for a few minutes and you will notice they experience emotions in much the same way. I have worked in many daycare’s, schools and was even a mentor for teenagers at different points in my life. They laugh wildly one moment and for seemingly no reason are sobbing the next instant. What’s even more amazing is chances are they totally forget about the entire experience 15 minutes later! They have all of their emotional energy in the moment to experience life.
Adults however have long forgotten this helpful little technique of dealing with life’s ups and downs. We experience something and have an emotional reaction to it. We then proceed to JUDGE the reaction labeling it good or bad, right or wrong. These judgments begin to affect the way we make decisions, consciously or subconsciously. We are either thinking about the past or worrying about the future! Are we are letting our past dictate our future? What if we stopped judging ourselves for what we feel and simply started living? I don’t have the answers as I am still working towards living in the present moment. I do know however that emotional storms in life are unavoidable but we can CHOOSE how we ride out the storms!
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