I have a theory. I believe we have several categories of emotions that I want to break down for you:
Useful
NOT Useful
Hard
Simply put "Useful" emotions are those that motivate us to do something. Typically these ones are enjoyable or easy to tolerate like motivation, curiosity and inspiration.
"Not Useful" emotions are those that do not move us to action and in fact keep us stuck within the perpetual experience of that emotion. Take, for example, Confusion. We just sit in one place in our heads saying "i don't know, I don't know, I don't know" and never make a decision and move forward.
"Hard" emotions are a bit more complex and where I want to sit for the remainder of this post. Hard emotions are ones we can get stuck in, but also have the potential to lead us into Christ's merciful arms if we take them head on. Hard emotions are uncomfortable, but, when wielded well, can allow us to confront something difficult or begin healing from a trauma by processing through that emotion to the other side. These are emotions that need to be processed. They are a signal that something needs to be addressed. In short, they are a chemical and physical experience indicating that God is asking to be allowed into our lives so He can go to work at healing our hearts.
In general, human beings just aren't motivated to move until we experience enough discomfort that we would like it to stop and stop now! We don't change our eating habits until our pants feel too tight. We don't get out of bed to pee in the middle of the night unless we really need to go. We wait to seek therapy until there are days that we can barely get out of bed.
It's funny but we see this again and again and again, and it's something that the God who made us knows and uses it as a means to draw us to Himself. He is dying to be asked into these painful places because He knows He's the only one who can make these burdens become easy and light and can take us through the emotion to the other side.
We are a fusion of body and soul and it is through our emotional life that God works in us and begins to transform us to more perfectly reflect His image and likeness. Hard emotions can become a prayer, a sacred experience.The hardest part of our emotional life is where Heaven and Earth can collide. A sneaky lie of the enemy we believe is that they are too scary or too hard to work through and we hide, dismiss or ignore them. These hard things are a gift I promise you. In fact, they are Holy Ground.
**I am a Professionally trained Catholic Mindset Coach through Metanoia Catholic. I love to work with Catholic women or any woman open to processing their thoughts and emotions through a Catholic world view.
**Check out my personal blog, Grateful Blessed Mess, at gratefulblessedmess.com to get to know me better! Don't hesitate to reach out. I'd love to hear from you if anything has spoken to your heart or you have any questions in general about Catholic Mindset Coaching.