The seesaw of life

"Do not deny yourself joy, but also do not hide from heartbreak."

I never cease to be amazed by life’s dichotomies. By how we can feel and experience two opposing things at the same time. How joy and heartbreak can occur simultaneously. We feel extreme sorrow when our children leave home, but joy for their independence and what’s ahead. There is a death in the family, and then a new baby is born. We are sad for endings, losses, and failures, but this does not stop us from celebrating beginnings, winnings, and achievements. In truth, we are not able to truly appreciate the joyful things in life if we never experience heartbreak. It is the seesaw of life.

But this seesaw can be exhausting. It saps our energy and leaves our legs weak. Too often we find ourselves sitting on the high side of the board only to drop suddenly and hard to the ground. And when we look up we see the person on the other side laughing, expecting us to laugh along too. But the drop isn’t always fun, and sometimes we just can’t laugh. But either reaction is okay.

So often other people’s expectations rob us of experiencing and feeling things as we need to. But I encourage you to do and feel what you must to get you through these turbulent times. Do not deny yourself joy, but also do not hide from heartbreak. Embrace both in yourself and in others. We all want to be ourselves and to be seen as our true selves.