I hate when that happens! How many times have you said this to yourself or out loud? It’s pretty easy for us to jump on the hate bandwagon, and it is a thunderously loud emotion. Hate easily pops up in topics such as politics, social issues, or even personal attacks. What is the possibility that when we feel hate, there are deeper awarenesses at work?
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I’m playing with the idea of conscious receiving today. Nice job! Congratulations! You look dapper today. I love you. I appreciate your helping me with this. You are amazing, and I’m so glad we are spending time together.
What’s spinning around in your consciousness when someone says these things to you? Do you grasp for a quick retort, feeling slightly uncomfortable and not sure what to say in response? I’m familiar with that one. Why do we sputter and wriggle around when someone notices and recognizes us with these gifts?
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Ooooh, sigh, gasp, eye-roll: can you sense that irked feeling dropping in for a visit? You know it, but perhaps it’s not a feeling you quickly put your finger on. The person sitting next to you is munching on something crispy, and that just keeps nagging you away from your focus stream. Maybe one more interruption is going to push you over the edge. Or here’s a good one: that mosquito keeps buzzing around your ear, and just won’t buzz off! These little, early-stage irritations leave you feeling irked!
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Irked or annoyed?
It’s rare for people to talk about feeling jaded. Have you ever asked someone how they feel, and the response is ‘jaded?’ It’s a feeling rarely talked about. So, I’m diving in. If you were to describe what you mean when you say, ‘I’m feeling jaded,’ how would you describe it?
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How do you manage when life says, “Stop?!” The dreams and aspirations I had for 2025 were all on track for the first half of the year. Suddenly, though, in the last half of the year, life screamed stop! Nothing I planned for stayed on track, and a new sort of path demanded my attention. What’s a person to do?
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‘You are here: I’m there with you’ is a phrase I’ve coined in my personal journey around caregiving for an aging parent. It’s easy when caring for a loved one with memory loss to get frustrated with the changes we see and experience. In my personal experience, the dad I used to know and remember shifts into someone different. Some days he seems like a completely different person. Oi! What’s a person to do with that?
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Knotted is a word I’ve rarely used to describe an emotion, but I have certainly felt it. This is a feeling probably more often used to describe a physical feeling as it relates to knotted or cramping muscles. Who here has never felt a physical cramp? Ouch! On the emotion side of things, who here has ever felt knots in their stomach? Oh! Is that what that is? Now, what’s it all about?
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“You’re okay; try again.” Her dad encouraged her to get up off the ground she tumbled to while trying to ride her bike without training wheels. Sound familiar? When you started riding your bike, how many times did you try before you got the hang of it? Your heart was super motivated, but the first few times you tried, you went tumbling off the bike, learned how hard the ground was, and didn’t enjoy the result. What’s a person to do?
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I’m feeling lethargic. Let’s see… Am I experiencing overload? (Perhaps.) Maybe I’m avoiding feelings I don’t want to feel. (I have felt that before, but that doesn’t seem to be it today.) On the mind-body connection front, I’ve negligent on the hydration front. (This could be a factor.) Am I separated from my purpose or joy? (Recently, life called me to redirect my energy. Meaning is still present in my life.) Or, is this lethargy a healthy response to life’s demands? (Maybe.)
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Is it a thorn or a rose? When you see the flower we call roses, what do you see? Do you see one or the other, the rose or the thorn, or do you see the beauty of both? What do roses teach us about ourselves?
When I see roses, I see the rose part first. The beauty is what I see first. I smell its inviting fragrance, and I see tender delicate petals and experience the color bursting forth from its bud. I want to experience the flower fully, so I pull it toward my nose and suddenly realize my touch requires some deliberate, careful handling. As the rose produces its sharp barb to protect itself, I too want to protect my fingers from the rose’s pointed thorns. Would that rose be what it is without either its thorns or its magnificent bud?
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Do you ever wake up feeling miserable? Maybe life happens, and you sink into a miserable abyss without realizing it. When miserable pays you a visit, are you aware? Do you notice and pay attention to what’s going on?
When I feel miserable, I often get a healthy dose of despair to accompany my experiences. Misery loves company, right? I’ve learned something about it, though. Misery can mean that something important is out of alignment. Perhaps a personal value or boundary is screaming for attention. Maybe it’s an emotion that wants us to pay attention to something we care about. Did you ever push something to the bottom of your list so many times it felt like a monster instead of something you can whip out in a short block of time?
Let me say this: Misery does not mean you’re broken. It means something wants your attention. Those who know me realize I have an active journal life. When misery stops in for a visit, journaling about things I long for, things I’m avoiding, or things that matter to me always helps. (Oh, I see now that I set my feelings aside, and they want to play, too.) It allows me to shift the negative connotation of misery into something enlightening. Sometimes I play opposites with it: misery/joy, misery/love, misery/peace, misery/comfort. You see, both are present, and sometimes at the same time. Being aware of the extremes helps me settle into the juicy middle.
I know it is far easier to say these words than to put them into action—when misery is present, instead of running from it, run into it. Do you know anyone on this earth that is always happy; literally, always happy? I don’t. We’re all bound to experience a smidgen of misery from time to time. Psst! It means you’re human! Yes, hello misery. Thank you for reminding me it’s okay to put boundaries around… for me to value my desires… for me to be grateful.
Explore more feelings in the Stayin’ in Touch – Negative Emotions book. You can play with them when or wherever you like.
Image by Trương Hoàng Huy Ngân from Pixabay
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Life Gifts
- Sending you rain to nourish the earth so that the earth can nourish you.
- I send you revolving hours of joy for writing about what you want to write about.
- I send you healing, detoxifying energy as your body benefits and heals from your weekend massage.
- Sending you bright colored paint for your life canvas.
- I send you flexibility to allow your writing dream to come to life as you live it.
- I send you giggles and chortles to accent all the moments of your day.
- I send you the deep, rich colors of berries to paint your soul.
- I send you appreciation for caring to make healthy choices for yourself.
- I send you healing energy as you mend your heart and body.
- I send you patience to allow new things to unfold positively for your life.
- I send you soothing cups of hot tea, your favorite music to listen to and time for you to relax and enjoy.
- I send you love.
- I send you courage and honor.
- I send you patience and understanding, and a powerful little elf to manage all your worries.
- I send you music to make your insides dance.
- I send you fresh strawberries to enjoy in a mild, sunny meadow upon a lush spring mountain.
- I send you lush green mountain meadows splattered with wildflowers for you to rest and rejuvenate your soul.
- I send you showers of strength as you walk your journey.
- I send you relaxing moments filled with love and caring.
- Sending you a bubble full of love and healing, to hold you and your heart.
- Sending you quiet mornings to savor nature and listen to the musings of your heart.
- Sending you sparkly confetti in celebration of your accomplishments today.
- I send you focus as you practice setting up new routines to support your engagement with your true self.
- I send you delightful whimsey, goodness over flowing, and creative deliciousness today.
- I send you life rafts for navigating the waters of life.
- Sending you calm to scatter around the chaos.
- Sending you warmth and caring.
- I send you clocks that indicate there is plenty of time.
- Sending you oodles of energy noodles.
- I send you moments of pause so that you can remember you are loved and cared for.
- Sending you calm and peace.
- I send you moments to fill your year with acknowledgment of how truly special you are in this world.
- Sending you loving hands to cradle your tender heart.
- Sending you bursts of energy and focus.
- Sending you nourishing rest and mindful body care.
- I send you fruit-full surprises in your journey.
- I send you joy.
- Sending you perfect laser focus to follow your warm heart.
- I send you showers of confetti filled with sparkling, renewing energy to keep you fresh and succulent.
- I send you a warm, snuggly kitty to comfort your soul and remind you about the power of love.
- I send you fireworks of inspiration.
- I send you a warm spot of cheer and buckets of love for you to use as you wish.
- Sending you patience while your body heals.
- Sending you joy.
- I send you wide open spaces big enough for all your dreams to materialize.
