Hi, Paul, thanks for dropping by over here. Wow, what a bunch of feelings! I guess the webnappers were all tucked in--quiet here on a Friday night for sure--in their gently swinging hammocks or sweet single beds somewhere, lulled to happiness and peace by a trade wind, smiles on their handsome pirate faces, I hope, but is their slumber guiltless, dreaming of new conquests? I would like to think so, but suspect not. Anyway, psychologists tend to indentify four primary feelings--love, joy, fear, and anger, or maybe five, where did just plain hurt go, someone running a feelings thread ought to do some research instead of just winging it--but I go along with you in simplifying things, there being no real joy without love, for example. I don't know if fear and anger are always part of the same feeling--maybe someone else would like to respond there. I'm very sorry to hear about your friend dying. I think maybe the difference between just existing--plodding along--and true, passionate, out-there living of life is not in the details--for all of us, people in our lives die, we fall in and out of love, lust and like, we are all sometimes sad, bored, feeling dull and mulling it over--but in what we ultimately decide to do about what hurts us, the risks we are willing to take to be well and joyously, truly happy. You did something very brave by being willing to look at underlying issues, trying to sort it all out, taking risks, changing something, giving yourself space, loving yourself. It's amazing how much room there is for growth in our lives, even in midlife, a time I thought I would really know most of the answers, and find now that I don't have a single clue, really. Wishing you all the best, Paul, I think you'll see a lot of brave and silly little boats sailing along, bobbing in the same waters with you as you go, hopefully safely, on your journey, feeling sea changes in their lives and flowing along, very much alive and kicking.
Christine |
