It’s not just about happiness though

July 11th, 2020

We cannot pretend, however, that we can be happy all the time. We are very complex creatures and we can have all sorts of emotions even when they seem contradictory, especially in times like these.

While is desirable to strive for happiness, it’s important to recognize and accept we can also be fearful, scared, anxious, etc. There’s nothing wrong with that. In the past , society has enforced stereotypes in which only the positive should be promoted and the negative suppressed. This is toxic positivity and even when well-intentioned it causes more damage than what it tries to help.

These “negative” feelings are also part of ourselves, and we cannot just ignore them and push them aside. For one, that would be denying our own human nature; secondly, they will find their way in sometimes unpredictable ways, and finally, they’re there for a reason, either to create awareness of our surroundings, serving as an alert, to stop doing something that’s damaging us, or enabling us to feel empathy and create a connection with others.