What are your emotions trying to tell you?

I don’t think we talk enough about our emotions.

We notice reactions to emotions all the time:

“That person is always angry.”

“They’re too loud.”

"I didn't mean to yell at him like that."

“They’re too emotional.”

“That person is crazy.”

"I shouldn't have acted that way."

But I don’t remember ever really being taught how to feel my emotions or how to listen to them.

Maybe in kindergarten we did activities where we identified emotions based on someone’s face- a big yellow circle with a smiley face, or a sad upside-down mouth, or steam coming out of the circle face's ears. But were we ever taught what to actually do with the emotions inside of us? Were we taught how to sit with them, understand them, or hear what they might be trying to tell us, and then be empowered to choose how we want to react? Or were we told not to cry, anger is bad, anxiety needs medication, and grief should only last a certain number of days before you're expected to return to "normal"?

I think that’s been a huge disservice to us, both as individuals and as a community.

For so long, we’ve been taught that big emotions, especially the so-called “negative” ones are a problem. Many of us grew up hearing things like, “I’ll give you something to cry about.” We learned that if our emotions were too big or too loud, something must be wrong with us.

But what if that isn’t the truth?

What if our emotions aren’t something to run from, hide from, or push away?

What if they’re actually one of the ways our bodies communicate with us?

What if anger is a signal that a boundary has been crossed.

What if guilt is a sign that a behavior didn’t align with our values.

What if sadness is asking for space, compassion, or support.

And what if grief meant you loved deeply.

What if there is wisdom in our emotions and all they’re really asking for is a little more space, and awareness, and a little more openness to listen? If we could learn how to interpret our emotions, we could unlock so much personal power!

Our emotions aren’t enemies.

They aren’t weaknesses.

And they aren’t problems that always need to be solved.

They’re signals.

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do isn’t to silence them.

It’s to slow down enough to hear what they might be trying to say.

And the truth is, learning to listen to our emotions is a practice. It’s something many of us were never taught, but it’s something we can begin to reconnect with. Through stillness, breath, awareness, and compassion, we can start creating space to feel what’s there instead of pushing it away.

Because when we begin to listen to our emotions rather than fear them, we often find that they aren’t trying to overwhelm us.

They’re simply trying to guide us, and we have the choice in how to respond.