Many of us have been taught to believe that only some feelings are acceptable.
The tidy ones. The calm ones. The “positive” ones.

You know, the ones other people like.

So when something messier shows up in us, we panic.
We try to shut it down.
We talk ourselves out of it.
We pretend we’re fine.

But the thing is, when you reject what you feel,
You reject yourself.

Ouch!

Your feelings are natural.

They are not an enemy to fight off.

And let me just speak directly to the hidden fear...

There is no feeling that makes you unlovable.

Not sadness.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Not jealousy.
Not shame.

Your feelings don’t need to be fixed, muffled or justified.

They are sacred messengers from your deepest self.
They just need to be acknowledged and honoured.

Especially by you.

And once they’re acknowledged, they shift.
They soften.
They settle.

Because you have received their message.

This week, try a new way.

When some feeling rises in you - irritation, sadness, anxiety, joy, confusion...

Instead of pushing it away, try saying to yourself:

"I’m allowed to feel this. My feelings are loving messengers. Is this feeling trying to tell me something?"

Let yourself have your full emotional truth.
It doesn’t mean you have to act on it.
It just means you’re willing to honour your own experience.

And listen to yourself.

Because real self-love isn’t found in controlling your feelings...

Or making yourself appear a certain way.

It’s learning how to stay with yourself when the less 'acceptable' feelings arrive.

And hear what they are telling you about your own truth.

If you loved yourself, what feeling would you welcome instead of resist now?

PS. We’re walking this path of needs and feelings in The Portal of Permission this month, and I like to include you in that on Wednesdays. The membership is closed at the moment, but if it feels like something you’d like to explore more deeply in future, you can join the waiting list HERE to hear first when it opens again.