All Feelings Lead to Joy

I love being happy. I bet you do too.

 Happiness is the smile in my heart when my grandbaby says my name. “Nini.”

 Happiness is watching Carl my wild sheep dog running from corner to corner in my yard, whole-heartedly (and loudly) barking for the neighbor dogs to come out to play. Really, the happy occurs when the tiny one escapes his house and refusing to bark, gives Carl a hard time.

 Happiness is knowing that there is a new episode of The Pitt to watch on Netflix at the end of the day.

 Happy is one feeling, but there is a kaleidoscope of others that we aren’t always so eager to embrace: anger, fear, disgust, sadness…even shock is considered a feeling.

 I was raised to think that most feelings aren’t good. If I was angry, my dad would tell me that ladies don’t raise their voices. Sadness was meant to be swiped away with a quick visit to the Kleenex box but was overindulged if you needed more than one tissue. Fear? Well, it can be useful, but not if the people you’re scared of are your parents.

Disgust was a no-go from the start, especially if it involved disliking Great Aunt Hannah’s recipe for strawberry shortcake: break-a-tooth-dry-Bisquick cakes, warmed-up-freezer-burned Cool-Whip, and still-frozen-unsweetened strawberries.

 From a biological perspective, it’s time to stop shaming ourselves for our feelings and own them all, and I mean every single one. As I’ll explain, in the end, they all lead to joy anyway.

First off, it doesn’t do any good to protest certain feelings because they are all biological. Feelings are produced and driven by chemicals made mainly from neurotransmitters, hormones, and a smattering of memories. They are half of the quotient that create emotions, or “energy that puts us into motion.” Thoughts being the other part of the algorithm. Thoughts, which are measurable and electrical charges, will be the focus of another Tuesday Tip, but it’s vital to see the bigger picture in this showcasing of feelings.

 We get things done because of emotions. Yeah, we can also laze about because of emotions, even if that’s not in our best interest. Still and yet, all feelings are necessary. They are the fluid that animates life. In fact, every feeling is beneficial because each feeling conveys a message.

 Anger insists that we set a boundary or that we act. We feel angry when someone violates or takes advantage of us, or when we fail to protect ourselves. It is also like a jumpstart for an engine, a jolt that moves us on down the highway.

 Fear insists that we’re not safe, and we should address or eliminate a threatening situation.

 Sadness informs us that we’re sensing a loss. It invites us to journey into our heart to regain or create more love.

 Shock helps us cope with a crisis by shutting down our feelings. When it clears, we must into self-compassion and healing.

 Happiness? It says we want more of the same.

 The fantastic kick-up-your-heels guarantee is that if you flow with every feeling and follow its advice, you’ll automatically move into some version of joy. Not happiness, which you can still adore. Joy.

 Joy is a spiritual quality and a medley of the same. It has thousands of facets, to include self-respect, reverence, relief, seriousness, silence, satisfaction, and solace. At the end of every feeling rainbow is at least one version of joy.

Think about it. It’s scary to set a boundary with an abusive person. It takes a lot of courage and must typically be followed by an action, such as walking away from a relationship, writing a confrontive email, or calling the police. Once you pursue that parameter, however, you will reside in self-honor, relief, self-love, or some other side of joy.

There truly is a treasure at the end of every feeling rainbow.