permission to feel it all

I feel things big. And for the longest time, I felt so much shame because of it. I need reminders that my emotions are not bad or good. They’re just information.

You feel angry because this is unjust. You feel sad because this is awful. You feel tired because this is exhausting.

Your emotions are not wrong or bad or lying to you or the full truth. They’re giving you a bit of data that you shouldn’t ignore. We love and lose and fall and get back up and fail and try again.

This is what it means to be human, to feel the pain, the grief, the stress, the risk, the fear, the heartbreak. So you, beautiful creature, you here is your permission slip to feel it all, to feel the joy and delight and excitement and the sorrow and fear and despair.

All the yellows and pinks and violets and grays, because you are the whole damn sky.

Looking for more blessings?

The Lives We Actually Have is a collection of 100 blessings to bless the ordinary, garbage, lovely, or grief-stricken days. You know, the days we actually have. So if you want a beautiful collection of blessings to return to time and again or to give to a friend, this is for you.

Sign up here to receive these blessings each week in your inbox.

Make your inbox a little more human.