Can Gratitude Actually Hurt?!?!

Hear me out, friends.

It is usually 24-48 hours after an EPIC weekend, festival, vacation, or majorly awesome affair that a deep sadness creeps up.

This weekend was one of those weekends and that sadness crept up QUICK this morning.

All of a sudden, I felt heavy. My throat is tight. My chest feels weighed down and tears are just one deep breath away from become a snot-nosed sob.

It is post joy sadness that is very natural for us as humans. We get blissed out by joy and then dip into the scarcities of the silence.

In the silence, our ego tries to hijack us. 
"What about this...!?!?!"
"What about that!?!?"
"You forgot to....!"
In the silence, we are present to the absence of the fun and games.

This is okay. This is natural.

I am sharing my experience and practices today because I know I am not the only one who experiences pain in what is really an overwhelming sense of Gratitude.

I just saw and hugged AS MANY PEOPLE as I could since last Thursday.

I was at the 25th Pierogi Fest!
It was my first Fest in 3 years.





​I was in the parade with my family 'just like old times' and it brought me to tears.
I got so much quality time with quality people.
I saw friends I haven't seen in years.
I ate HELLA delicious food!
I did NOT get blackout drunk for the first Fest ever!
I finished the weekend having made more money than I spent!
My biz didn't miss a beat while I was enjoying my hometown.

I walked around my old stomping grounds filled with more hometown pride than I could ever articulate.

I made new tons of new friends!
I grew closer to my 'old' friends!
And sooooo much more!

This weekend in Whiting was over the top wonderful and today's sadness is a healthy sign of that.

And now, the streets are empty.

It's raining this Monday morning in Whiting and it is washing away all of the evidence of this amazing weekend.

I am sad it's over.

Most importantly, I am SO GRATEFUL that I had the experience.

I am grateful for my hometown. 
My homies.
My home grown upbringing.

I have so much Gratitude, it hurts.

It's days like this that my heart feels like it will burst.

My message to you today:
DO NOT MISTAKE PAIN WITH SUFFERING

Feel your feels and have yourself a snot-nosed cry when you need to.

Set yourself free by realizing how joyful you are in the chaos AND the silence.
​
Count your blessings. 
Count your days.
Most of all, make them count.
Live the life you love.

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