Rainy Days

You know those days where it feels like a black cloud is hanging over your head? You're down, things aren't going the way you want them to and you just feel like hopping into bed and pulling the covers over your head?

Today is one of those days for me.  A year ago today, my brother passed away. Tough stuff. As I was driving back to Austin I felt gloomy and to top it all off, I literally had a black cloud hanging over my head. It is a rainy summer afternoon which is perfect for reflecting and looking back over the past year.

One major lesson that I have learned this past year is that bad days are going to come in waves just as grief can come in waves. Just think of it like the ocean. Sometimes, the tide is going to come in. Bad days will happen. Sad days will happen. But then the tide will go out and happiness will return.

And guess what? Those bad days are ok. It seems simple but it is a lesson I had to learn. It is ok to have a day or even just 15 minutes to cry your eyeballs out.

It is ok to feel every single emotion that you may experience. One emotion is not better than the other. We need them all. Plants need rain just as much as they need sunshine to grow and flourish. We need sad days. They help us appreciate the good days. Sometimes the hardest lessons learned are on the worst days. With each lesson though, we grow a little bit.

So if you're having a horrible no good very bad day, it's ok. Allow yourself to experience it. Feel it to the very core of your being. Just know that the sun will come back out. And when it does, soak it up!