How many times have you buried your feelings and put a smile on your face even when you were boiling inside from unexpressed emotions?
Stop for a moment and think of the real reason behind it: We are scared of rejection. Plain and simple… so many feelings sprout from fear and being rejected in a major one. We need to feel loved, accepted; especially from people we admire or look up to. So we butter things up, we try to make them look pretty; but scrape the surface and you might find repressed anger, resentment, dissatisfaction etc…
I recently had to spread “love and light” when I was actually frustrated, scared and angry. I was not being honest with myself or any other person involved in the situation.But I was worried I might seem ungrateful and afraid of being rejected by a person I deeply admire.
As a teacher I should know better right? In my classes I teach my students to be real, to find peace within by being true to themselves, to understand how worthy they are…
At this point I needed to reflect on my emotions, so for a few days, every time I had the chance I sat down in stillness and breathed, practicing the loving kindness meditation I learned from my teacher then made time to move into a yoga practice I knew I needed…
I realized that as humans we will always have this visceral need of belonging; of knowing that we are approved of; but we’re scared…so we wear masks, we hide behind them and keep pretending until we have the courage to reveal our truth; then we tiptoe, we experience, we get hurt, we fall and claw our way back up. We keep falling until we feel loved no matter what we say, how we say it; we learn that even when we tell the truth we are accepted naturally and without judgment.
Sometimes it takes a few times until we realize that the people judging us are as scared as we are, and crave to belong and be loved as much as we do.
Were you ever in a similar situation? I would love to read your story!
Yours in Vibrant Health!
Doreen