Something I’ve been practicing recently is holding and giving space to how I feel, without acting on or withdrawing from it.
I’ve been practicing slowing down
to experience the fullness of what’s available to me as a human
and to give myself choice in how I respond, when I choose to.
For most of my life, things have been different. For most of my life, my instinct has been: How do I express this feeling or make it go away?
To be human is to feel.
And what I find true for me and my people is that we struggle to BE WITH how we feel.
We tend to act on our feelings, automatically, by fulfilling them, numbing them out, or avoiding them entirely.
Of course—some feelings are safer and easier to experience {namely the “positive” ones}, but even those can come with costs if we don’t practice being with them.
In love, I’ve felt desire so tempting, I’ve given my heart away before truly knowing if someone deserves it.
In business, I’ve felt the highest high of possibility that I’ve invested in poor decisions and purchases.
Whether it’s joy or sadness, bliss or despair, possibility or fear—my people and I—we feel so deeply, that it’s like its too big to sit with.
Maybe you keep yourself in a bad situation to avoid being with all the ways your heart breaks.
Or maybe you live so small and sweetly to numb out the fear that comes with dreaming.
This is safety. And taking action in the absence of real choice. Being unwilling to BE WITH your feelings only leaves room for an automatic response—one that could be costing you sanity, success, or even self-worth.
What if, instead of expressing a feeling or keeping it at bay, you simply allowed yourself to hold it?
What if you let your longing linger?
Or your heartbreak hurt?
Can you stay open and soft without letting your edges get sharp?
Can you be with how you feel, without making it mean anything?
What I’ve found is that even the darkest pain will clear space for peace. And even the highest joy will turn to ash in a fire of fear and frustration. Such is life. Such is knowing and being up close to your very alive-ness.
This is the journey we’re here for.
What if you allowed yourself to experience it fully?
And then breathed intention into how you respond?
This is Presence,
This is Sovereignty.
With love & spirit,
-Kayla
Words & Wisdom
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