Our inability to be present with negative emotions can often be the root of our suffering. Pain, discomfort and negative emotional states are a given in life, yet so many of us refuse to accept this and perpetuate our own suffering as a result by endlessly toiling AGAINST experiencing them. This is INSANITY! It's like going to war against a part of your own body; it will only lead to more pain, suffering and deeper emotional turmoil; which is where all these anxiety, depression & addiction epidemics stem from; people trying to escape their negative emotions, to no avail. If you knew there was no avoiding or escaping negative emotion (there isn't), how would you engage with it? Would you still fight against it, knowing it would only cause you further tribulation? Or would you then surrender and allow it to be experienced, knowing this too shall pass?

Many people, especially those who subscribe to the idea that we create our own reality, falsely believe that if we allow ourselves to feel our negative emotions, that they will persist, but the opposite is true; the more willing we are to experience them, the faster they will pass! Toxic positivity and emotional bypassing have done a great deal of damage to our society, which is evident in the current mental health crisis that only continues to grow. It won't be solved by psych meds, "positive" affirmations, or any other means of self-betrayal. Until we are willing to face and accept the totality of who we are, which includes unwanted things like negative emotions & past trauma; we will find ourselves hopelessly fighting against that which is only strengthened by our resistance.
End the war. 🖤🤍