Mary's Emotions
Feb 19, 2021I discovered Praying the Stations with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, at a Cursillo weekend many years ago. It has become my favorite way to pray the Stations of the Cross during Lent, but I also reflect on the prayers throughout the year. As I reflected on the readings today, these words popped out at me:
Anguish
Loneliness
Confusion
Helpless
Discouraged
Grief
Scorned
Sorrow
Deep Joy
Grateful
These are the many emotions that the Blessed Mother felt as she watched her Son carry the heavy cross to his death on Calvary. The Blessed Mother suffered alongside her Son. She knew the sweetest joys possible, but she also experienced the worst pains possible.
Reflecting on the Stations from Mary’s perspective is a reminder that as I experience these same emotions in my life, I can be assured that the Blessed Mother understands and sympathizes with me.
Learning to Live with Our Own Emotions
As a Catholic Life Coach, I have the privilege to meet with women each week who want to live joyful lives by finding and living their unique purpose. One of the things we focus on is identifying and processing emotions. As humans, we all experience all emotions. In coaching, I encourage my clients not to categorize emotions as good and bad.
It is easy to welcome emotions like joy, happiness, excitement, or contentment while wanting to avoid emotions such as sadness, sorrow, frustration, and grief. Living life to the fullest means experiencing ALL emotions. Instead of avoiding uncomfortable emotions or pursuing only the emotions that “feel good,” the goal is to identify, allow, and process ALL emotions.
Here are the ABC’s to help you.
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Acknowledge your emotion. Give it a name.
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Breathe. Take a deep breath and allow your emotion. Don’t push it away. Permit it.
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Consider why you feel this way? Ask yourself “why” do I feel ______? This will help you identify the thoughts behind your emotion.
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Decision. You can choose if you want to continue to feel this emotion or if you’d rather feel something else.
These are the critical steps you can use time and time again to process and allow all emotions. This is one of the foundations of life coaching which opens the door to living a full life and creating a life you love.
