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Sunday, September 25, 2016

JOIN: Remembering To Feel


Every Saturday, join me as I CELEBRATE This Week 
with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.


Almost three years ago a young girl was murdered in my cul de sac. 
Her older sister was the one who killed her.
We were left shocked and horrified and terribly sad. 
No one could have predicted it. 
But I still thought about everything I might have done to have prevented it. 

I could have
gotten to know the girls more
invited the family over for dinner
offered to do homework with the girls after school
done something I didn't do.

Afterwards, I processed my emotions with a trusted friend.
He told me it was okay to experience all these feelings.
 It was not only natural, 
but needed.

Holding feelings in, 
bottling them up, 
shoving them aside, 
doesn't work. 

I let myself feel then.
And let myself feel still. 

Emotions are interesting. 
They seem to come and go. Even though this happened years ago now, sometimes I'll remember and the hurt and guilt is there again. Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I tell my husband. Sometimes I write about it. But I don't ignore those feelings.

Today I'm celebrating the power of remembering to feel. Allowing ourselves to experience emotions is important. Of course, it's easiest to experience and relish in the emotions that make us feel good. But it's just as important to feel the not-so-good feelings too. 

How are you feeling this weekend? 
What do you do to let yourself feel?
Does writing help you process those emotions?
I know writing often helps me. 
Thanks for being here to celebrate with me!

5 comments:

  1. Writing is definitely one way I process emotions. It helps me pull them out, look at them, feel them and then move on again. Thanks for the reminder to feel.

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  2. Like Crystal, and you, too, Jen, I guess that writing is one way I let myself think about hard things, and other times I walk, anytime, anywhere. Just to be outside is so healing for me. Thanks for celebrating something that helps face the challenges!

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  3. Remembering to feel - such a powerful reminder! We do need multiple ways to deal with the hard things, and you're right, writing is one of them. It's so true that emotions come and go. We can't always predict when we'll remember, but we can always slow down to feel the emotion. Thanks for sharing your personal experience today.

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  4. Wow, this will be a great event to visit and I think we all should visit this event and try to discover all the amazing things.

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