Journey Back to the Kingdom
“Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
Layers upon layers of unprocessed feelings, discomfort, disconnected, depressed and confused. Have you ever felt like that? I have. The body needs to process its feelings, emotions and stresses. Some of us have trouble allowing our bodies the freedom to go through the natural process out of the fear of feeling the feelings, afraid that we may not be able to tolerate or handle them.
Our minds then begin building the case in favor of why it’s safe for us to keep these feelings hidden away from our own awareness and ultimate release. At times even causing physical illnesses in support of maintaining this suppressed state of being. Our perception of what may happen to us if we allow these feelings to surface becomes distorted, so we push it down further. The reality is that this sometimes subconscious behavior creates a human being disconnected from him or herself and fragmented. Walking through life but not living it.
The template of a human being unaffected by this behavior is that of a child. Generally loved, cared for and attended to children experience life fully. They process their feelings and when it’s processed the next moment has arrived. Nothing to do, just be.
As young adults we build survival mechanisms where we suppress our feelings in uncomfortable situations and these emotions seem to just get pushed down in some cavity of our soul. We may practice this behavior in moments of hurt, trauma, loss or embarrassment to avoid allowing others to see or share in our pain. It’s possible we didn’t receive the support we needed in some situations which reinforced this behavior and as a result turned inward and into ourselves. Then we wonder why we feel sad or depressed or why we behave in ways which do not fit our ideal. Sometimes we are so far removed from our unprocessed feelings that we don’t know why we feel depressed we just know we are depressed.
In order to allow the feelings to have the space needed to be experienced, the first step is to avoid “acting out”. This can be any outside stimulus which we believe will make us feel “better” from this state of being by over eating, drinking, drugs, shopping, sex … You get the picture.
Post “not acting out” will generally be followed by first, a small time of discomfort, but soon be on the lookout for the Universe to send you support.
The miracle happens soon after the moment we choose not to “act out”. That new behavior or non-behavior of not acting out sends a signal to the Universe telling it we are open to our own evolution and we are willing to be aligned with our highest good. Shortly after, you will see the Universe sends help or signals in helping you process your feelings or stress. It may be in a form of the perfect song that suddenly plays on the radio or an unexpected encounter with just the right person to talk to. Who knows in what shape or form the help comes in but it comes. You simply have to be open to seeing it. Tune in. If you’re in tune to it, you can become aware to it.
The practice of meditation, in my experience, is a great facilitator in allowing the body and soul to become whole. Journaling, praying, talking to someone you can trust are all great tools.
A present mind, body and soul is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and maybe there is no “getting there” and staying the path is the best we can accomplish on this journey. The way back to being open to life like a hopeful child….fully open to it all, the crying, laughing, hurt feelings, sadness, joy, life and death … the whole thing.
Maybe just maybe you’re not the same person you were who couldn’t handle the feelings. Maybe you’ve evolved. And maybe you’re not as alone as you think you are. Maybe you just need to open the shades and let some sunlight in. Maybe just maybe you are strong enough to let things be as they are, allow yourself to let go of the pain of the past and be whole for a new day.
