Chapter 13: Appreciate Your Feelings
Your feelings give you a unique perspective on life. They fill you and transport you to other places. They give situations and people meaning. Both the good and the bad feelings that you experience make you human, so appreciate everything that you feel. It is easy to appreciate the good things. But remember that the bad things also have a purpose and a place in your heart.
Appreciate joy. Joy makes life worth living. Joy is one of the best feelings that you can experience. The things that give you joy are things that you come to love and want to engage in again and again.
Appreciate nostalgia. Your mind has a great way of forgetting the bad things in the past. Instead of recalling the hardships and bad feelings that you undoubtedly experienced in the past as part of life, your mind recalls the good things. Your memories of the past are probably fond. You almost wish you could go back. Nostalgia feels good, in a bittersweet way.
Appreciate sadness. Sadness means that you loved something, and now you grieve its loss. You grieve a person, or the end of an era, or a shortcoming within yourself. Sadness makes you human and shows that you have a heart. It also makes you appreciate happiness all the more.
Appreciate anger. Anger lets you know that something is wrong and you have an opinion about it. Anger reflects your right to have an opinion on how life should go. It also lets you defend yourself and call people out when they do wrong.
Appreciate fear. Fear protects you. That fear instinct prevents you from partaking in dangerous activities and preserves your life.
Appreciate love. Love can hurt you and it can overwhelm you. But it is electric. It consumes you and makes you both loyal and generous. Love shows that you have a heart and that you are not a sociopath. Love also ingratiates you with your loved ones, who enjoy being loved by you. Appreciate the sensation of being loved, too. It is a warm feeling that makes you feel wanted and worthwhile.
Appreciate appreciation itself. Appreciation fills you with joy and gratitude. It gives you a sense of belonging on this earth and a reason to keep living. It makes the things in your life seem especially precious and worth having around you.