How am I feeling?
I get so annoyed, and sometimes even triggered by that question.
My first thoughts — “that’s so overrated”, “that’s so mushy”, “such a waste of time”.
Almost always, I am resisting what is.
Eventually, there comes a point where I give in. I check in. First, I sit with my body and feel what’s present. I notice the sensations that arise, the way my body feels, and the emotion that’s present. And, as if I’m a loving parent checking in on their favorite child, I observe everything.
Sometimes my body feels heavy. Sometimes it feels light. Sometimes sad and lonely. Other times loving and compassionate.
So I just sit. And be with it all.
And because I don’t need to do anything or fix anything, I just “let be what is”.
I wait for whatever is there to exist, be seen, and leave.
Sometimes it results in crying. Other times laughing. Most often, though, it results in loving.
The saying “the mind is a great servant but a terrible master” is true. Our minds don’t know when to stop thinking. They don’t know when their job is over. And most importantly, they are wrong, often.
But the body is different. The body is a great servant and a great master.
The body knows who and what we like and who and what we don’t. It knows when we need rest and when we need movement. It knows when we’re hungry, and when we’re full. It knows every emotion we’ve ever felt.
Our bodies live this life with us, too.
So I pretty much hate checking in. I resist it, every time. But when I check in this way, with the body first, I don’t need to hate or resist it, because it’s an experience, not a truth.
When I check in this way, emotions get to feel seen, felt and released, and my mind is completely out of the picture. There’s no story at all, just experience.
So I remember — when I listen closely, I know everything I need to know, and nothing I don’t.
