Oftentimes, in today's fast-paced world, where we tweet about our feelings before we even understand them, we rarely take the time to process our emotions properly. Whether they be happy or sad, positive or negative, major or minor, emotions are a big deal; they are what make us human, and they deserve attention just like we, as individuals, do.
So why is it that we fail to pay attention to one of the most important aspects of our lives? Is it from sheer lack of time? The fear of getting hurt? Or worse, the fear of being wrong? Perhaps we are most fearful of being right.
I don't know where the notion came from that you have to put on a happy face for everyone at all times, but it's crazy and flat-out impossible. And yet, somehow, it's almost necessary to adopt this idea in order to get by in the society that we live in. "Feelings" are misconstrued and even, at times, mislabeled. Depression and suicide are romanticized, while happiness, trust, and love are discounted as invalid.
We are being taught that it's okay to not be okay, while at the same time we are expected to be okay 24/7. In the beginning, one may find it soothing to fantasize that they will never encounter any problems, and that, on the off chance that they do, everything will be okay. Simultaneously, we're falling apart on the inside, trying not to let others know just how badly we are really hurting.
I, for one, am not ashamed to admit that I have sought out counseling for some of the situations I've encountered in my life. Emotions are a crazy thing, and they're not easy to comprehend sometimes. One thing my therapist said that has stuck with me since the day I heard it is this:
"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end." ― John Lennon
It is so incredibly easy to get caught up in the motions of pretending to be happy and fail to actually experience happiness. When things go wrong, it's practically human nature to assume the worst and that things are falling apart. Sometimes, they actually are. Other times, it's simply an exaggeration. Regardless of how bad circumstances may be, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and that things work out the way they do to allow us to grow and to make us stronger people.
Rather than stress about things you can't control, put your time and energy into things that you can help, especially those that make you happy and bring you joy. We all have good days and we all have bad days. The universe throws us a curveball every now and then to see if we're paying attention, but always remember that if it's not okay, it's not the end.
