How Long

Our emotions color our lives with varying palettes. Sometimes we feel a strong emotion in reaction to something that has happened or a flood from what has happened, but emotions also visit us seemingly out of the blue, flooding us unexpectedly with joy or grief or melancholy. Like the weather, they come and go, influencing our mental state with their particular vibration. Sometimes a difficult emotion hangs around longer than we would like, and we begin to wonder when it will release its hold on us. This is often true of grief stemming from loss, lingering anger over a past event or difficulties in relationships.

If we allow ourselves to feel our emotions fully when they come up, they recede naturally, giving way to another and another. When an emotion haunts us, it is often because we are afraid of really feeling it. Emotions like despair and sadness and are powerful, and it is natural to want to hold them at bay. When we are facing this kind of situation, it can be helpful to ask the spirit, “How long do I need to sit with these emotions, how long do I need to feel these emotions before they can pass?” If you ask sincerely and wait, an answer will come.  Sit down and make yourself available to the emotion that has been nagging you and just feel it. Avoid getting attached to it or rejecting it. Simply let it ebb and flow within you.  Emotions are by their nature cyclical, so you can trust that just as one reaches its apex it will pass. Each time you sit with its presence without either repressing or acting out, you will find that difficult emotion was the catalyst for much-needed emotional healing.

This was shot during a trip to Paris and seemed appropriate for a somber Monday of personal reflection.

If you would like to purchase a print or digital download just follow this link to our photography website: http://www.kerstenbeck.com/ArtGallery/Rome/23603723_2K8xDr#!i=2078373725&k=n2T6P9b