As I started becoming more conscious in my life and taking off my rose-colored glasses,
I began to feel like something was wrong with me because I didn't feel positive and happy every day the way I often saw modeled in spiritual circles.
I kept hearing people say,
Just be positive and look on the bright side.
But trust me,
If I could,
I would.
How I feel isn't always elective.
I also knew ignoring sadness and anger doesn't make it go away.
I couldn't keep suppressing negative emotions in order to keep a mask of positive vibes only.
Eventually,
I heard of something called toxic positivity.
It's a psychological term used to describe the pressure to maintain a positive mindset at all times in a way that denies,
Minimizes,
Or invalidates real emotional experiences.
I resonated with this information right away.
And it helped me understand that yes,
There really is such a thing as too much positivity,
And there wasn't anything wrong with me for not being able to be happy 100% of the time.
Of course,
Having a hopeful,
Grounded mindset can be really valuable when it comes to challenges.
And I'm not saying that we shouldn't be optimistic in the face of a hardship.
But what I didn't know then is how important it is to give ourselves permission to feel the whole range of emotions.
It's okay to be mad.
It's okay to be sad.
It's actually human.
And it's a normal,
Healthy,
And necessary response,
Because our emotions are our compass in life.
We're not meant to override our truth just to appear okay.
We're built to respond to life in honest ways,
Even when that means sitting with discomfort,
Grief,
Or anger.
And you're absolutely allowed to express negative emotions in a healthy way without needing to feel ashamed or guilty.
I think I just needed someone to tell me that.
So I'm sharing this with you in case you might need to hear it too.
This perspective really supported me during a time when I was confused about what healing and being conscious looked like.
So as always,
Take what resonates and leave the rest.
