Tag: feelings

Thoughts and feelings

Most of our lives are spent trying to rationalize the reasons for the feelings we experience be it happiness, nostalgia, love, sadness, contempt, regret, etc.  Rationalization makes a story that makes it “rational” for us to act in correspondence.

But then our lives change we realize two things:

  1. Bi-directionality: Our thoughts & actions can dictate our feelings just as our feelings shape our actions.
  2. Acceptance: Sometimes there are no explanations and we don’t need to invite anxiety trying to rationalize a reason for every feeling.  Sometimes its ok to just watch the feeling and enjoy the intimate relationship we share with it as it passes through our bodies and inevitably leaves.

Travel and Moving

The more I travel, the more I realize I’m not simply moving physically, but also being moved internally.  I’m also being moved mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

When we travel, we’re moved to strokes of insight.  We’re moved to shots of awe.  We’re moved to bursts of frustration.  We’re moved to a deeper sense of purpose and meaning.  We’re moved to tears of sadness.  And we’re moved to tears of joy.

When we’re moving on the road, we may no remember what we saw or what they said, but we never forget how they made us feel.  When we strip away the comforts of home, we create room to be moved.  And this might just be the best kind of movement.  😉

Envy vs Appreciation

I try not to be an envy Nazi.  Granted, most of envy comes from the wrong place.  But it serves me no good to indiscriminately shun away all envy.

These feelings are evoked in me for a particular reason.  Its far more interesting to ask why I’m bombarded with the unprompted envious thoughts than to immediately dismiss them as blasphemous and sacrilege.

The questions I try ask myself when I’m blindsided by envy:  What is it that I actually envy about this person?  Do I actually want what this person has or am I confusing it with appreciation?

Most of the time it’s the latter.  There’s nothing wrong with appreciating the shiny and charming.  The difficulty arises when you grow envious and that negatively affects your well-being.

Next question: Does the object of my envy align with my goals and values or is it a flashy object with tantalizing charm that would look nice on you?  If yes, allow myself to appreciate rather than envy.  But most likely, the answer is no and the object of my envy does not align with my overarching goals.  Then I can dismiss them as blasphemous and sacrilege. 🙂