Page 59 - Taming Your Gremlin A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way (Rick Carson)_Neat

and the tips of all ten of his beautiful little metacarpals and flashed me as
big and as joyful a grin as I’ve ever seen. I lost it. I leapt out of my chair,
ran up to the counter, and ordered a chopped beef sandwich and a beer. The

floodgates came crashing down, and I’m just as close to God and what’s
right as ever—I think.

My point, of course, is not “eat more meat.” It is simply that authentic,
uncensored joy is powerful, beautiful, and contagious. What is more, the
experience of joy is always available right inside your very own body. As
you begin to get more and more space between you and your gremlin you
will feel it more often, for sure.

And as for sadness, did you know that a full experience of sadness can
feel invigorating?

Sadness

Many people confuse sadness with depression. Actually, sadness and
depression are very different experiences. Sadness is a natural response to
certain stimuli. It often results in tears and full breathing. It can be a
powerful, rich, enlivening experience. Depression, on the other hand, is
often the result of blocking sadness, or of blocking anger. Depression is
what can happen when our gremlin convinces us that our feelings are
unacceptable. When we are depressed, we have a sense of being deadened

and blocked. When we fully experience our sadness, we may not feel on top
of the world, but we will feel very much alive and may even have a sense of
wellbeing. Most importantly, when we experience our emotions fully, we
will eventually move through them to a new feeling space. On the other
hand, if we avoid our emotions, we tend to stay stuck in a particular

emotional state.

What do you habitually do with your sadness?

Recall a time when you felt sad, over a loss, perhaps, or in a sad movie.
How did you react? Did your gremlin convince you to legislate against your
sadness? If so, you probably started breathing rather shallowly and
developed a tight, full feeling in your throat, or a headache. That was your