heartbreak at the traffic light
The other day, my heart broke at the traffic light, and I bet yours did, too.
If you think you don't suppress emotions regularly, keep reading, and let me prove you wrong.
What do you do when you pass an unhoused person asking for money on the side of the road? Do you roll down your window and give them something? Do you make eye contact? Smile? Or do you grab your phone and look down, distracting yourself?
As humans, it's impossible not to be impacted by the presence of another human just feet away, asking for help. Regardless of your political beliefs or views on societal systems, you are affected by that person standing there.
And then, whether we acknowledge that person or not, the light turns green, and we speed back into our own lives.
Many of us live just a short distance away from unhoused people, perhaps passing the same faces repeatedly. We may even start to recognize some of these faces.
Think about your own life. Do you have a warm bed to sleep in tonight? Are you worried about where your next meal will come from?
Do you feel like you are more deserving of these basic necessities than another human being?
How do you think these traffic light moments impact us over time?
We may forget about the person standing there on a conscious level, but our cells and energetic bodies absorb the heartbreak at that traffic light. In our souls, we know it's insane that we live on a planet with plenty of resources for all beings to be free, safe, and fed, yet our reality looks very different.
I believe it is human nature to want to extend a hand, offer a meal, a bed, or a shower. But society has conditioned us to believe that unhoused people are dirty and unsafe. We’ve been taught to distance and separate to protect ourselves. Perhaps a similar pattern we've been taught around emotions...
What does that feel like for you? Does it break your heart? It’s completely natural to feel overwhelmed by these emotions. We might notice ourselves wanting to bury the feeling, pretend some people deserve more than others, or shrug and say, ‘It is what it is.’ But the truth is that if we let them, our hearts break for every person who is not free, safe, and fed. Many sensitive hearts break for animals and plants, too. This is part of being human. It’s okay to feel deeply— In fact, it’s why we’re here.
So we experience this sensation for a fleeting moment at the red light just off the highway exit, and then the light turns green, and we speed along. It probably wasn't a convenient time to feel heartbreak on the way to your job or a dinner party.
How many of these micro-moments accumulate inside you until you take the time to truly feel them? How many feelings do you avoid because it's not the right time?
Taking time to truly feel is a courageous and compassionate act of self-care.
The feelings are there. It's not always time to feel them. But if we wait too long, they will make their presence known in one way or another, often in inconvenient ways at inconvenient times. This is how energy works.
Maybe you notice you're moving through your days with a heavy sadness you can't quite identify. Or maybe you snap at the people you love. Or perhaps a new physical illness has emerged.
It's all energy expressing itself.
Just like we take out the trash, we need to intentionally take out the energy. We can do this by first acknowledging that there are things to be felt and, second, by slowing down and allowing ourselves to feel them.
What happens when you sit in stillness with your eyes closed with no stimulation or distraction? No phone, music, podcast, TV show, book, or companion. Have you ever tried?
Perhaps you quickly become restless or notice your mind start racing. Do you start picking at your skin, hair, or nails? Or maybe you become relaxed and notice your breathing. You might even notice yourself starting to feel an emotion.
Whether you have had dramatic challenges in your life or things have felt wonderful and easy, I promise you there are feelings to be felt in all of us. Many ancient practices, some modern investigations, and my own intuitive guidance all confirm that simply being born is a trauma for each of us. And if you've ever driven past an unhoused person on the side of the road, you can now count two experiences waiting to be processed and felt.
Multiple sources estimate that more than 150 million people are currently unhoused worldwide.
Maybe these unhoused members of our world are just like our orphaned emotions, ignored and forgotten. Maybe we’re hoping that both will just magically “go away.”
And maybe, by acknowledging these emotions and allowing them to be felt, we might even access a greater depth of empathy and creativity when addressing the problem of our globally growing unhoused population.
So, I’ll leave you with this question—can we stop pretending we're fine all the time and start normalizing that we've all got things to feel?
What do you need to feel right now?
If you’re looking for support and a safe space to explore and understand your emotions, I’m here to help. Feel free to reach out to see how we can work together on this journey.