Is That a Feeling?
“I feel like I’ve heard that before.”
But really, is that a feeling? Or… is it a thought.
Here’s why the semantics are important:
I felt his hand gripping around my neck
I feel unloved, unwanted and unprotected
Even in my remembering
I feel the hurt rush over me
After the pain
I feel joy and love again
I feel the sunshine
To the Heavens I embrace
I feel the brilliance cover my face
In Him I have no shame
I feel warm, loved, hoping
This is my feeling
It’s real, it’s valid
It keeps me grounded
A reminder that I’m breathing
My heart still beating
But still they can mislead me
Turn me into a zombie
Anger rises and jumps the gun
I holler in victory I’ve won
My feelings deceived me
My own worst enemy
Not a thought
We say, we have a right to EXPRESS ourselves. But that expression is incorrect & it’s proving once and for all that “feeling” is just another word to be pushed aside. You’re abusing the word and it’s getting a bad rep. Our feelings are God-given, show them a little respect.
Go ahead, feel the feels. Seriously, don’t let someone bring you down because you have strong, passionate feelings. But let’s stop confusing our reasonable, logical, organized thoughts from our CEREBRAL CORTEX with the disorganized, at times spontaneous, unreliable, inconvenient feelings and emotions that derive from our amygdala.
Yall didn’t know a neuroscience lesson was happening today!
Just as our feelings shouldn’t dictate our life. Our logic and reasoning has no place to tell us how to empathize or sympathize. Not every small remark you make is a sensation, a memory, a pain, or happiness. Not everything you think is right.
I think we say “I feel…” because we don’t want to be proved wrong. Since our feelings are our own, you cannot feel the same thing I do and I cannot feel it for you. But I can know the truth. And the truth can set you free. You can feel free, but you can be free too. So which is it?
Confusing, huh? It doesn’t have to be, there was a time when feelings were restricted and unwanted. Now, all anyone cares for is how they feel and living for your feelings. But feelings won’t get you anywhere if your thoughts don’t make a contribution.
Make up your mind. Take your tongue out of the millennial moment it’s been brainwashed by and profess your thoughts and why those thoughts provoke your feelings. Slow down, take the time to think- is this a feeling or is this what I think?
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
