Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Walking the Emotional Tight Rope



Emotions are funny things. One minute they are for us, and the next they are against us. They swirl around us like fog in the early morning, and by late afternoon are floating like fluffy puffs of cotton before a spring rain. We never know when our emotional weather will change, or what the next round of precipitation will be.

It could be a blizzard, with its icy sheets of rejection, anger, and bitterness, pelting our aching hearts until they become cold as granite and hard as flint. We are left with no hope of relief as darkness sets in before we have a chance to even look for enough kindling to light a fire and warm ourselves.

Perhaps it will be a spring shower of acceptance, just enough to renew our parched feelings of self-worth and sprout some fresh blooms of happiness. We relish these moments of freshness with fondness, knowing that spring will not last forever.

Maybe it will be a searing afternoon of expectations, with the temperature high enough to boil our blood and leave us with second degree burns that blister and peel for days.  Even a soothing layer of aloe will not bring relief fast enough to chase away the self-doubt brewing underneath the surface.

Life is a balancing act, at best. Our emotional tight rope is nothing more than a mere line of thought that sways with every wind of circumstance that blows around us. Unless we have a safety net in place, we can fall hard, and be seriously hurt.

This safety net is our beliefs, our convictions, and our moral standards. The thoughts we think must be measured against, straightened by, and reinforced with them in such a way that we do not get blown away by the whirlwinds and storms that come our way.

Each time we feel ourselves being tossed to and fro by the waves, we have an anchor to hold fast to that brings stability and strength. We are able to stand our ground, keep our balance, and finish our course in spite of abrupt changes in the weather around us.

Surrounding ourselves with those who care for us and love us holds our safety net in place, supporting us in our weakness. We depend on them to provide the emotional first aid needed when we lose our footing or sway too far one direction or another. In turn, we do the same for them. 

Each time we step forward to help someone reinforce their safety net, we are weaving additional fabric into our own.   

©2014 by Denise W. Anderson, all right reserved.

2 comments:

  1. And my comment disappeared. Sigh...well, I have to run now....but this is an important message, and for me it all comes down to acceptance. :)

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  2. Sorry you are having issues with posting to my blog, Bill. I'm not sure how to fix that problem. I do appreciate you stopping by, though, and commenting. When you mention that it comes down to acceptance, do you mean accepting our own circumstances and working with them?

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