I had a moment the other day.
One of those moments where I’m saying to myself, how am I going to do this?
I was going to do what I usually and keep my frustrations, concerns and irritation to myself and just “figure it out,” but I something in my spirit told me: go talk to someone.
So I did. I confided in a super good friend of mine about what was going on in my life and I literally let it out. I am not always great about verbalizing my feelings, I’m better expressing myself from pen to paper but this time, the words flowed like a river.
I bawled like a baby. A hungry, pooped diaper, wanting to be held baby.
She stood there and let me vent, cry, beat myself up, ask questions, hugged me and cry some more. Not one interruption came from her while I basically threw a tantrum like a toddler. And then when I was through, she told me “you have a great support system, it’s okay to ask for help. And if you start feeling these feelings of negativity give it a name and tell it to leave you alone.”
I never thought about it like that.
I always knew that writing down the things that make you happy can actually cause you to have positive feelings but I didn’t even think to give the negative feelings an identity.
Just like in Harry Potter. Everyone was afraid to say the name Voldemort because they felt like it gave power to him. But Harry even said in “The Half Blood Prince” that he’s not afraid of the name. It’s just a name. He knew that the man behind the name had to be defeated. Or even when Harry faced the Dementors (dark creatures that feed on human happiness and thus generate feelings of sadness, despair and depression within them). He had to force himself to generate feelings of happiness within himself in order to defeat the Dementors. Thus, Harry conjuring up the spell, Expecto Patronum (the Patronus spell). Which loosely translates to: I await a guardian or my definition: happy thoughts. (Quick Harry Potter lesson for the day)
If I give my negativity a name, I won’t be afraid to acknowledge them; I’ll want to defeat them. It’s understandable when we’re afraid to acknowledge that we’re sad, depressed, overwhelmed or confused. We feel like if we talk about it, it makes us seem weak or unstable but it’s quite the opposite. Tackling the feelings that weigh us down won’t weigh us down anymore. Addressing those negative feelings won’t give them power but it’ll make them cower and disappear.
It does take a few life lessons and experiences to really master how to defeat your negative feelings about life. They will come and go.
But will you give them power or use your Patronus spell every time?
Fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself -Hermione Granger
Image from google.com
Life Lessons from a Novice 