Many of us want to feel like we are winning at managing our emotions, but often, we are all over the place. It’s been interesting to observe myself over the last few weeks.
I go from thinking that all of this is going to be just fine…
Enter.. Contentment
To thinking that nothing will ever be the same.
Enter… Sadness.
And actually, I go back and forth,
A LOT.
As I’m sure many of you do.
Many of your friends do.
And many of our missionaries do.
What I want to offer you is this:
This is your brain working EXACTLY as it should.
We have two parts of our brain, actually.
One part that can reason and one part that likes to point out all the problems.
It does that to keep us safe and protected.
And so, we end up with this situation which,
To me, feels a little bit like a Tug-of-War.
Are you feeling it, too?
It’s BOTH
Maybe sometimes you feel content to be stuck in your apartment…
And yet, it’s a little bit sad, too.
And actually…
Here’s what’s interesting:
It’s BOTH.
We are always flowing in and out of:
- Content and Sad
- Fulfilled and Lonely
- Confident and Worried
- Motivated and Unsure
- Calm and Stressed
- Excited and Bored
But, we get to decide how we want to feel about this little Tug-of-
War.
We can make it mean that is something is wrong with us,
Or we can just observe human brains with so much compassion,
A touch of curiosity and maybe a little amusement, even.
Just like we’d watch any other game of sport.
Because, in this game
There are no winners or losers.
No better ways to feel or worse ways to feel.
There is just our human brain, doing what human brains do.
So, know this:
When we get comfy with the back and forth
or just drop the ropes and call it a tie,
That’s the moment…
We are winning.
