"Dark Side of the Moon"

It’s tricky and uneasy to sit with pain, our own or someone else’s. We generally don’t like to see people hurting, nor do we like to hurt. There is a desire to DO something or SAY something, and it’s painfully invalidating.

“Look on the bright side!” “Don’t be so negative!” “It’s going to be fine.” “Everything works out for the best.” We might say.

But positive/negative, good/bad thinking completely oversimplifies the vastness and the messiness of being human. And it may also compel us to minimize our (and others) complex feelings instead of giving permission and space to work through them.

It’s not that positivity is unwarranted. It’s just that all emotions are warranted. And, with that we don’t have to rush our healing. We don’t have to push through our grieving. We don’t have to force a smile or pretend we’re okay. We don’t have to go all #Blessed when we feel we’re not.

It’s okay to believe life sucks sometimes—because it absolutely does. It can also be beautiful and complicated and delightful and challenging. It’s not either/or, it’s both.

Healing happens by feeling. And true healing feels a whole lot better than false positivity. That’s what gives us hope—not pretending that all we see is light but sitting in the darkness until we’re ready to find the light.

Sometimes, what is truly healthy is to sit in that dark space, in the shadow side, on the dark side of the moon. Own your darkness without shame. Because there are no ‘bad’ emotions. Nor is it ‘negative’ to embrace them….but consider doing so only as long as you truly need to.