Riding southbound on the Metro North Hudson line, I am gazing out the window and watching an incredible sunset with picturesque white, fluffy clouds. The Hudson River glistens and sparkles with the reflection of the brilliant sunlight.
I feel as if my insides are sparkling and shining just as brilliantly as the water in the Sun!
And then two days later, boom. I’m doing four loads of laundry, preparing for my kids performance, and needing to mentally coach myself to give attention to the lovely checkout lady at the grocery store. “Look up Shawna, say something nice.”
It’s not her fault I can’t muster up my energy. It’s not my fault either.
These are just the pendulums of life. The peak experiences, and the valleys. These are the experiences of our bodies raw reactions to our lived experience.
Emotions. Emotions are our reactions. The unfiltered, knee-jerk reactions to the moment; whether we are reacting to our own internal dialogue, or some external stimulus.
One weekend, I’m North along the Hudson River and enlivening my passions and sharing the gift of the practice of yoga to future yoga teachers And I feel my body wanting to explode with excitement and joy, I want to skip through the fields! And then the next day I’m wanting to get warm undercovers and just not talk to anybody; why do I have to do the laundry, ‘leave me alone.’
The gift of mindfulness of emotions is that we can watch all of this. And we can remind ourselves that we are not this emotion. Who we each are is that awareness that is watching the emotion.
Mindfulness of emotions can also be wonderful. Especially when the emotions and the experiences are so incredible and life enhancing! And it’s also very supportive when the emotions are more than I want to handle.
When we practice mindfulness of emotions, we can start to see that we can handle it all. We can cope and navigate whatever our current situation or circumstance is. We can navigate whatever emotion arises.
Remember, mindfulness is awareness with compassion; a two-winged bird.
So, the next time that you are experiencing a valley, take some time to pause. Offer yourself, compassion and grace. See the bird’s eye view. Just simply name how you feel, and ask yourself what you need.
Then take that deep breath. It will all be alright. And you just softened the suffering.
When you experience that high, soak it in! Name it too. Cultivate that joy. Revel in it and then let it go. Breathe into the next moment.
Coming out of the valley,
Shawna 💗