Feelings aren't Facts

A dear friend used to tell me this and I would say to myself, but... they ARE to me... Right now they are ?!?  I never fully got it. I thought she just didn't understand. Truth is... She did understand. She had been where I was and had a big enough heart to share her story with me. Some things sunk in immediately and other things I filed away in the back of my mind. She's been gone several years now but I find myself remembering the little things she would say to me at just the right time. She knew I was strong willed and never really disagreed with me. She let me figure things out on my own, in my own time. And I'm still figuring things out. Lol. The whole feelings aren't facts idea had me thinking though. Being a sensitive, emotional person, my feelings were all I knew. I trusted people and was co-dependent in a lot of ways and had an idealized view of what life should be like. I was often disappointed in myself and others when the present circumstances didn't match up with what I had envisioned.

My friend helped me gain a new perspective on life- past, present and future. The little cliches that I loved and were annoyed by, have now become my own personal mantras.  The way I feel today is just that ... a feeling, not necessarily a fact.  And sometimes I just have to let the sick be sick. This too, shall pass. Things that are out of my control, are just that...out of my control. Live and let live...one day at a time. Whatever the problem, she introduced me to the tools I needed. 

Now, when I feel a certain way, if its...negative, I choose to get out of my own "head" and do something for someone else. It's amazing how helping another person can make you forget about your own struggles. And I am able to recognize when I need to remove myself from things/people. I no longer feel compelled to make everyone around me happy. That's freeing, in itself. I've let relationships go in which I was being taken advantage of ...and life is much more peaceful.  I've accepted that sometimes things don't turn out as planned, but I have to trust God, not myself, and definitely not my feelings. I say the serenity prayer frequently, in traffic, at work, home or wherever. I have come in contact with a few "angels" in my life, or as she used to say, "God with skin."  

Today I'm thankful for the little miracles and the big ones and for all the people along the way who helped me have that "lightbulb moment."  Lord knows, the lightbulb goes on and off sometimes but I know where the source of my strength comes from and that doesn't change. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Xoxo, 

Jodi