Do You Truly “Feel”?

Have you ever truly felt a feeling? Like within the utmost part of your being, have you felt that feeling of feeling? I know it sounds funny, but unless you have truly felt you are missing out in life!

I can not remember when the first instance of true feeling was for me, but I can tell you it has been since my freshman year at ACU. I’ll never forget the time I asked my friend about true feeling:

It was a random school night my freshman year and I was with my best friend Amber Letz (now Ramirez) and we were having one of our nightly deep serious talks in her dorm room. Her roommate wasn’t around that night and we had the lights off, door half open to let some light shine in from the hallway, she was in her bed (the bottom bunk) and I was doing my typical sprawled out across the floor staring intensely at the ceiling while I thought pose.

I remember saying, “You know how people talk about being able to feel something in their heart? Like saying ‘I hurt so bad for the person I felt it in my heart’ or ‘It made me so happy that I felt the love in my heart.’ Well, can you really feel in your heart? I mean do your organs really feel? Aren’t feelings like a mental state of being? Can you have a feeling within your body/chest area like that?”

She said, “Yes.”

“So you’ve felt a feeling in your heart?”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm…well I guess you can’t describe it, huh?”

“No, not really.”

Man, if I’d only known then what I was missing out on!

Today I can honestly say I am a happier more fulfilled person because of the joy I get from truly feeling. The power of those deep feelings is unbelievable! Whether it’s the true, deep-down feeling of love or passion or a drive or inspiration or motivation or one of those feelings that you really just can’t put a name on, THOSE are the feelings that make life worth living each day!

If you’re still reading this at this point and you honestly don’t know what I’m talking about, there’s the possibility that you’ve never truly felt before (and that is completely possible and while you might be missing out, maybe you just haven’t gotten to that stage in your life yet or something—heck, I didn’t truly start feeling either till apparently the last few years). But if you do know what I’m talking about, maybe you can relate to some of the scenarios that I truly can feel with….

Like this evening I was inspired to write this blog because of my feeling I had during my drive to my night class tonight. If you’re a huge music fan like I am, you can probably get yourself to that deep sense of feeling through music. Tonight on my drive to school I had my music BLARING (as I love to do when I’m in the car alone) and I was singing along really loudly. Sometimes with music I can totally just feel it and it just completely energizes me. Sometimes the energy is inspirational, sometimes a happy feeling, sometimes motivational, etc. And usually when the song hits me like that, and I’m singing at the top of my lungs, I normally will play the song over and over, as I did tonight. One of the songs that just totally was feeling tonight was “I Dare You to Move” by Switchfoot (which I highly recommend if you’ve never heard it). Gosh, while these deep feelings are hard to explain, tonight I was just so energized and motivated by the music (and honestly it didn’t really have much to do with these specific lyrics—though it sometimes does). I remember pulling into a parking spot at school and since I was a little early I just stayed in the car and listened to the sound over and over (yes, still singing…I don’t care if folks are around lookin’ because I was totally feeling, baby!) I remember getting this total urge to call a friend and just say “Hi” because I was in a great mood and I wanted to make sure someone else was having a good day too! That is what true feelings will do for you (they’ll inspire you when normal times might not).

Another time when I can totally get the deep feeling is when someone that means a lot to me tells me something nice or just simply makes my day by surprising me with an email or an IM or a call or something like that. Have you ever just felt that deep feeling of appreciation? Gosh, that is quite possibly one of the best feelings in the world! This sense of appreciation is a form of love and it is one of those deep feelings that always gets me and just puts me in the BEST mood!

Honestly, the true, deep, in the depths of your chest, basically in your heart I suppose, feelings that are felt are quite possibly one of the most wonderful blessings in this life! I think it is these deep feelings that really drive us as human beings through life on a higher level of living.