Inevitably, we all struggle in discerning the truth of the feelings we must follow from the grip of the feelings that oppress us and rule us. I have experienced the truth of feelings when I can face what is mine to face and have been held down in the grip of feelings when I avoid, […]
Thrive Global invites voices from many spheres to share their perspectives on our Community platform. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team, and opinions expressed by Community contributors do not reflect the opinions of Thrive Global or its employees. More information on our Community guidelines is available here.
By
Mark Nepo, New York Times #1 bestselling author, poet, and philosopher.
Inevitably, we all struggle in discerning the truth of the feelings we must follow from the grip of the feelings that oppress us and rule us. I have experienced the truth of feelings when I can face what is mine to face and have been held down in the grip of feelings when I avoid, deny, or run from them.
When faced with a deep feeling, especially a difficult or challenging one, we often meet the initial surface of that feeling, but never open the door of that feeling. For feelings are doorways to the depth of life. They are asking us to be in conversation and journey with them. When we refuse, they circle back in louder, harsher ways. When I open the door of the feeling that is calling, I enter the depth of life and the feeling becomes a teacher. When I knock on the door and run, I am suddenly in the grip of that feeling.
Fear is a good example. When I knock and run, fear only chases me down. When I open the door of my fear and walk through, it always right-sizes to a deeper question or quandary that I am facing in my life.
Hard as it is, we must open the door of our feelings and enter, listening at their feet. So we can unravel the noise and tension that living on Earth tangles us in and find the deeper current that will carry us and help us live.
A Question to Walk With: Describe a time when you were led to open a difficult or challenging feeling. Where did it lead you?
This excerpt is from my book In progress, No Greater Teacher Than the Heart.
New Webinar with Mark Nepo — The Fire of Aliveness
In this 3-series webinar, The Fire of Aliveness, Mark Nepo will teach about the challenges we face after such a long period of solitude. How do we open after being so closed? How do we reconnect after being so isolated? How do we know what to pick up and what to put down? In this series, Mark will address how we can be tender and fierce in our call to love each other, until justice and healing are the same thing. November 21, November 28, December 5 1-2:30 Eastern | 11-12:30 Pacific See more details at: https://live.marknepo.com/
Mark Nepo, New York Times #1 bestselling author, poet, and philosopher.
Mark Nepo is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Book of Awakening. Beloved as a poet, teacher, and storyteller, Mark’s recent work includes The Book of Soul: 52 Paths to Living What Matters, Drinking from the River of Light: The Life of Expression, More Together Than Alone: Discovering the Power and Spirit of Community in Our Lives and in the World, Things That Join the Sea and the Sky: Field Notes on Living; and a book of poetry, The Way Under the Way: The Place of TrueMeeting. A two-time cancer survivor, Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. For more information, please visit:
