Not Every Knock

There was a time when I thought every strong feeling required a response.

If I missed someone, I reached out.

If something worried me, I acted.

If I felt misunderstood, I explained.

If I cared, I did something about it.

It seemed almost dishonest to feel something deeply and then do nothing with it.

But life has a funny way of teaching you that not every knock on the door means you should open it.

Sometimes the knock is information.

That is all.

A feeling can tell you that something matters.

Fear can tell you that you are standing close to something important.

Anger can tell you that a boundary has been touched.

Longing can tell you that you care.

Anxiety can tell you that your mind is trying to protect you from an uncertainty it cannot resolve.

Even joy can tell you to pay attention.

But information is not instruction.

The fact that I feel like calling does not mean I should call.

The fact that I want an answer does not mean someone owes me one now.

The fact that I miss someone does not mean I must interrupt their day.

The fact that I am afraid does not mean there is something to run from.

Sometimes the wisest thing I can do with a feeling is simply to notice it.

I feel this.

Then wait.

Not suppress it.

Not worship it.

Not obey it.

Just let it tell me what it came to tell me.

There is a quiet freedom in that.

You begin to discover that you can carry a feeling without allowing it to carry you.

And perhaps maturity is partly this: learning to listen carefully to what is happening inside you without handing every feeling the steering wheel.

Some feelings are signposts.

Some are alarms.

Some are invitations to look more closely.

But not every feeling is a command.

Feelings are information, not instructions.

Nugget: Listen to what you feel. Then decide what deserves to be done.