Nope! No Way! Not Ready! That wide-eyed, stiff and out-of-breath response to emotions... Welcome to the world of feeling. That resistance is the surface of an emotion and is a sign of something important. Sometimes, we think we can push our feelings down, but here's the kicker... those are feelings too. No matter what you do, you ARE feeling something. It may come out a bit different than the way most people talk about emotions, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that you are feeling something. What might your resistance be telling you?

Love is an interesting experience and expression. We often throw "love" into the positive category. Is that true? How can "love" take on a less positive or even negative experience? Is it still "love" as an emotion or is it "love" as a situation? Is there anything else that might happen (judgements, interpretations, meanings, outcomes, expectations) that become more active? If so, is it still "love" that we're feeling, or is it something else?

What I'm feeling is not the same as the story I'm telling myself.

What positive emotion has impacted your life? What did it bring to you? What meaning did it hold? How long did it last? Are there any obstacles to keeping this feeling with you in difficult times?

"We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions." - Brene Brown