Sometimes it seems like we have lost all the joy in living. We might think this is a natural part of life and is normal – part of being an adult.
It is not only joy that we are missing. We may have lost our curiosity, creativity, adventure, or the wonder at being alive. As children we had many wonderful qualities, but somewhere along the way we lost them.
It is not normal to lose all of your wonderful qualities. What have you lost? What would you like to reclaim in your life?
Your childhood
Many of you started out life as happy whole children and then life happened. You ran into all the problems that children face when growing up. You may have been hurt, rejected, embarrassed, or shamed. You may have felt confused, lost, angry, not good enough, misunderstood, or unloved.
Painful experiences from childhood can continue to haunt you long into adulthood unless you address them.
How you hold onto the past
Emotions are felt in the body. According to Antonio Damasio, author of The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Mind in the Making of Consciousness, the body is the theater for our emotions.
Not only do you feel your emotions in your body, you store unresolved emotions from childhood in your body. According to Candace Pert, who wrote the Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine, emotions are felt and stored at the cellular level.
Neuropeptides are chemical messengers produced by our brain. These chemical messengers attach to our cells. When the neuropeptides attach to the cells we feel sensations in the body and we call these feelings or emotions.
If you were not able to resolve a problem in childhood, that emotion remains stuck in your cells. For example, if you were angry at your mother and you were not allowed to express that anger, you are still holding onto your anger. Your body still feels that old emotion.
Why emotions from the past drain all the joy out of life
Emotions from the past can continue to cause you problems. If you are holding onto old painful emotions, it is much easier for you to feel those emotions in the present moment. If you felt unloved in the past, you will be more conscious of any slight or unloving comment. You may become hyper vigilant looking for signs that you are unloved.
Emotions from the past are like landmines. When ever something – even something minor – reminds you of the past, you feel all those old emotions again. Even if you have forgotten the past, your body still remembers.
How can you get your joy back?
These emotions from the past are not your true emotions. In fact, they are covering up your true emotions. Your true emotions are still there waiting for you.
When you let go of the past, you will find many treasures you have lost. These treasures are the real you.
If you want to reclaim your joy, the first step is to make the decision to be the person you were meant to be. The second step is to learn the poetry of emotion process and start letting go of a past that no longer matches the real you.
Do you want more joy, more curiosity, more fun, more happiness, more peace more love …?
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(Image: Harry Hartanto @ Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/hartanto_photography/8453431562/)
