listening to yourself

Lately, I’ve been trying to make more a concerted effort to listen to what my body and heart are trying to tell me. I think so often I feel things in my body before I my mind can even understand what I’m feeling. It might sound odd but I think that happens more than we think. Maybe I’m overly emotional but I’ll find myself with a pit in my stomach or tears rolling down my face for seemingly no reason. When this happens, I’ve been trying to lean into those feelings a bit more and through that I often figure out what the problem was in the first place. In my opinion, so much of the time we are just trying to get through our day or don’t want to deal with these things when they come up, but when you lean into them and truly let yourself sink into the emotion or sensation you are feeling, it can be beneficial. Often I think my body knows what my brain doesn’t.

I guess this could also be considered listening to your gut (which I really subscribe to). People talk a lot about gut feelings but I truly don’t think we follow them enough. Most times when you hear about someone following their gut, its in a scary or dangerous context but I think you can follow it into what you want as well. I’ve been thinking about where people would be led naturally if they forgot anything anyone ever told them about how their life is supposed to look or the path they should follow. Maybe they’d end up in the same place and if so thats amazing for them, but I just can’t help but think everyone would end up in such unique and unusual situations, jobs, etc. At what point do we stop following our own inhibitions and natural guidance?

Finally, I’ll say this: it’s really important to lean into yourself. Too much in this world unique people are put into a box, but I find that the people who are so completely themselves and have leaned into their identity and core are the most interesting people to be around. I look around and I think that so many people are just copies of one another and again if that is you being yourself more power to you. But, just open TikTok or really any social media and you’ll see about a million versions of the same person right down to the mannerisms. And at the end of the day this isn’t a huge crisis or anything but I just think that we in general are losing a bit of colorfulness and individualism. So to anyone reading this: say what you want, wear what you want, live where you want, follow your heart and your gut into what you feel you are destined for.