With all the positive, inspirational and motivational quotes, comments and stories being put out for consumption every day I thought that I would remind people there is a place in our lives for anger, sadness and dark well.

This may sound odd coming from someone who regularly shares her feelings and views around positivity however by ignoring our basic human emotions we truly lack balance in our lives, in our bodies and in our minds.

There are going to be days where even the most passive of us is upset with the driver in front of us who slams on the brakes. Where we are angry with the universe because we have lost someone close or where the weight of the world is on our shoulders and in that we feel alone.

In these moments it is so critical to know that we CAN acknowledge these emotions, allow them to appear in our lives but NOT allow them control. It is how we approach or deal with these feelings or thoughts that counts not the fact that they are present.

I was told by an acquaintance once  that everyone who knew me hated me because I was so happy all the time. What she did was assume that because I smiled everything was smooth sailing in my life. She did not know about the emotional and mental abuse. She was not aware of my inability to accept or love my body. She didn’t see what was lying beneath.

What was going on under the surface was that I was choosing to smile. I felt that bringing my pain to the surface would serve no purpose and that it would bring those around me down. So instead I shelved it for later. The error in doing this was that I allowed it to sit and fester instead of greeting it and then turning it into the fuel that my life needed. Instead of leading a life of balance I was living life as if I was on a see-saw always in one extreme or the other while the pain took control.

These days I do not choose to smile. I smile in a subconscious reflex reaction because I am truly happy from the inside out. Instead of running from my fears, sadness, anger or pain I am allowing them to fuel me in my pursuits. I am speaking openly about them through my writing and I am working through them via physical engagement and counselling. I own these emotions but I do NOT let them define, limit or control me.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing I hope you can allow the dark to pass through your life but that you are able to find ways to channel it, to allow it to fuel you, to let it go and to create the balance that you need.

Love D.

Photo Credit: Olivia Keane