Emotions are something a lot of people have a hard time with whether it’s moving through them or expressing them.

I used to numb my feelings with alcohol and drugs. I didn’t have some horrible life I was trying to forget about by any means, which often fueled my rationality. Rather, my numbing was more of an escape from reality and, in turn, an escape from my emotions.

I would run from sadness, being uncomfortable or feeling shy. I didn’t want to experience the sense of vulnerability that comes along with feeling the extreme emotions that we are all made to feel at some points in our lives.

Drugs and alcohol helped me to turn down the noise in my head and drowned out anything that wasn’t making me feel connected.

Now, in my sobriety, I have a higher appreciation for feelings. Although some of them are still harder to feel than others, I typically relish in them with a practice of gratitude as they are happening. And yes, sometimes that is awfully hard to do.

I’ve come to realize the significance emotions carry with them, which has shifted my perception in such a positive way. I’m actually thankful that I get to experience the full spectrum of sensations we are built and programmed to feel.

I’ll tell you why…

We spend our whole lives running from emotions not realizing how important they actually are to feel. Emotions carry within them an abundant intelligence that we often dismiss as we simultaneously dismiss feeling through them, but in doing so we neglect to see the reasons why emotions are important.

Emotions are a sign of change.

It’s a sign of life. When you’re extremely happy or sad, there is something going on around you in your sphere of life that is causing you to feel this way.

Maybe you’re ecstatic because you got a new job or a new car, which is a favorable mark of change.

On the contrary, maybe you’re super down in the dumps because you lost your job or you’re going through a break up or illness. These are all still changes being displayed through the negative side of emotions.

Emotions are inevitably an indicator of change. Although change can make us feel like our worlds are being rocked, it’s not always a bad thing once the dust settles.

As things evolve for us our emotions play a role in all of it. We feel a certain way when something is about to occur, needs to or as something is in the process of changing. Often times as things begin to shift, we fight against the change and this can cause emotional stress. We also might see something coming and we are emotional as we are watching it unfold.

No matter how the change is taking place, the emotions surrounding it are there to guide us. Instead of viewing emotions, especially negative ones, as something to run from, we should really look at them as our facilitators. Life is ever changing and our emotions are our built in guidance system to help us navigate through the ups and downs of life.

Emotions are the glue that holds us together.

Everyone has problems. We all have our struggles and things we fall short on. We’re all treading through life, some at faster paces than others, but all of us have the same basic needs and feelings.

Emotions are the common ground that each person shares in. We all get sad sometimes. We all get angry sometimes. We all feel a sense of cloud nine at times, too.

Realizing that no one is perfect and we all experience the same range of emotions is what has the ability to authentically link us all together. Trying to hide how we are feeling or run from it because we think it makes us less perfect or because we are afraid, actually takes away from what makes us human.

We were born to be real, not perfect.

This spills over into having compassion for everyone exactly where they are emotionally, which is an unending practice. We tend to forget everyone makes mistakes in this crazy life, including us. Holding a space of empathy towards people who screw up in your life or cause you to feel certain ways is the foundation of forgiveness. And, Lord knows, we all need it from time to time.

Not only that, but we are all born with the same set of emotions. Some show theirs better than others. We are hard wired to feel, no matter what we do in this life to try avoid it; we ultimately are made to feel. Even the strongest people can hide their emotions, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

When we really stop to think about it, what truly connects us all is that we can see ourselves in others. We relate to our inner circles because of our commonalities and the emotions we share.

When I’m sad and a friend can relate because they have felt this before, a bond is formed. When I have a friend who is upset and I stand there beside them to experience it with them, we become more connected.

Emotions are important to our lives because they truly demonstrate that we all experience change and we all experience the same range of feelings. Essentially proving that we are all one in the same.

Understanding the role of emotions in our lives can help us be more comfortable accepting them in all their forms. As Brene Brown says: “Connection is the energy created between people when they FEEL seen, heard and valued.”

It’s all connected, and so are we. Namaste.