0:00:01 - (Kevin Lowe): What's up, my friend? And welcome to the podcast. If you clicked on today's episode, I'm gonna assume that you might be feeling a little bit down today, or you at least have in the past. And if so, well, then you are in the right place. Because today, we're exploring that. Feeling sad, sometimes it's not a sign of weakness. No, just a sign of being human. So today we're going to talk about why sometimes we just need to let ourselves feel the emotions.

0:00:35 - (Kevin Lowe): And if that means being sad for a while, I hope you'll stick around.

0:00:40 - (B): Because this might just be the conversation.

0:00:43 - (Kevin Lowe): You didn't even know you needed. My friend, I welcome you to episode 281. What's up, my friend?

0:00:50 - (B): And welcome to Grit, grace, and inspiration.

0:00:53 - (Kevin Lowe): I am your host, Kevin Lowe.

0:00:55 - (B): 20 years ago, I awoke from a life saving surgery, only to find that I was left completely blind. And since that day, I've learned a.

0:01:03 - (Kevin Lowe): Lot about life, a lot about living.

0:01:05 - (B): And a lot about myself. And here on this podcast, I want to share those insights with you. Because, friend, if you are still searching for your purpose, still trying to understand.

0:01:16 - (Kevin Lowe): Why, or still left searching for that.

0:01:19 - (B): Next right path to take, will consider.

0:01:22 - (Kevin Lowe): This to be your stepping stone to get you from where you are to where you want to be. Unless you were hiding under a rock last week, you know all about the big, massive solar eclipse. It was taking the world by storm, well, at least here in the United States. And everybody was so excited, people were traveling to be in the path of totality. Now, from the perspective of me, who's blind? Well, needless to say, the solar eclipse didn't really have me all that excited.

0:01:55 - (Kevin Lowe): Not much for me to see. That was until I listened to a YouTube video. Or you could say I watched a YouTube video, whatever kind of language you want to use. The YouTube video was from one of my favorite channels, and it's the Smiths. The Smiths are a family with Granger Smith, the country artist turned a pastor, and his amazing wife, Amber Smith. And the video they released was of their experience in Texas experiencing the solar eclipse.

0:02:27 - (Kevin Lowe): What was cool about it was the fact that Granger admitted that he had downplayed the whole thing. He didn't think it was all that much to get excited about until he experienced it. Now, here's how this relates to today's topic. I was listening to this video, and it was really amazing because as the eclipse was taking place, as the moon was gobbling up the sunlight, you could hear the sound change, the birds that were chirping, the birds that were singing, they fell silent.

0:03:03 - (Kevin Lowe): And then all of a sudden the crickets came out. It was pitch black, like it was midnight. And Granger and his wife and their kids and all the people over at their house, they were all freaking out at how incredible this was. They were marveling over the sight of the moon gobbling up the sun. And then of course afterwards, as the moon continued on its path and slowly but surely, the sunlight returned to earth.

0:03:34 - (Kevin Lowe): It was magical. And in that moment, while I was listening to the video, I was paying attention to the sounds. I couldn't help though but feel a little bit sad because on the video they were marveling at how absolutely breathtaking the image of this was. And I couldn't help. Even after 20 plus years of being blind, I couldn't help but miss it a little bit. I couldnt help but find myself standing in my kitchen listening to this video, eating breakfast and feeling sad.

0:04:12 - (Kevin Lowe): I found myself praying, talking to God that I just miss being able to see this amazing world that God has created. Yes, ive learned to see it in a whole new beautiful way. But there comes sometimes when I just really bad wish I could see again. It's the sight of an eclipse. It's the sight of the faces of my family. The fact is, I've not seen my family in over 20 years. I was just a kid back then. Heck, I've not even seen myself in over 20 years.

0:04:48 - (Kevin Lowe): And 99% of the time I don't even think about it. I go on about life just as I do. But in that moment, I felt sad. And here's what I typically would do. Ordinarily, I would have immediately stopped myself not allowing myself to be sad because I really hate to be sad. I don't like to cry and I don't want to be upset. So generally, I would immediately switch off that video, put on some uplifting music, totally change my mindset and get myself focused on something else.

0:05:27 - (Kevin Lowe): But this time was different. This time I decided to sit in it, to feel it, to let myself be sad. Because after all, its okay to be sad sometimes. And while I was feeling the feels, I kept thinking to myself, you know what? I bet I'm not the only one who has these days who has these moments when you just feel a little bit down. And I couldn't help but think to myself, you know what I want to tell that person?

0:06:01 - (Kevin Lowe): I want to tell you that it's okay, that it's all right to feel down. It's alright to get upset. It's just part of life. It's part of being human. We have emotions, good and bad. And honestly, I couldn't help but think maybe this is how it's all supposed to be. We're not supposed to forget about one emotion and replace it for another. We're just supposed to feel the feels. And that is what today is all about.

0:06:32 - (Kevin Lowe): Now, before I continue, there is one thing that can make all of us a little bit happier. And that, of course, is a good night's sleep. And that is thanks to our amazing sponsor, mypillow. If you would like to take a part in their $25 extravaganza, please be sure to use promo code KeVin when shopping@mypillow.com. Again. Head on over to mypillow.com. Use promo code Kevin, and you can take part in their $25 extravaganza.

0:07:05 - (Kevin Lowe): I'm talking about some of their very best products are literally only $25. Check out today's show notes where you can find a list of exactly what these products are. And hey, if you want anything else, because they do have over 250 different products. When you use promo code Kevin, you're going to get the best available price. We're talking up to 80% off. So thank you, myPillow, for making our lives a little bit better when it's time for sleeping.

0:07:37 - (Kevin Lowe): So the question is, what do we do with this sadness? Because, I mean, we don't want to walk through life every day being sad, being upset. No, that's not what I'm suggesting. What I'm suggesting is you allowing yourself to recognize it, to feel it, to understand it, to sit in it long enough for you to give it the space, to give it the attention, to give it the respect it deserves. You have experienced love and loss.

0:08:07 - (Kevin Lowe): And there's times for you to marvel in the love. And there's times for you to be sad over the loss. It's part of life. It's part of being normal. Normal people. We laugh and we cry. We smile and we frown. We have good days and we have bad days. And that is perfectly normal. One thing, though, I want you to remember is when you do feel this, when you have this moment, when you have this day, I want you to realize it's not a permanent state.

0:08:42 - (Kevin Lowe): No. You get to choose to come out of it. I want you to think of these moments as a cloud passing by in the sky. And for a moment, the cloud, it passes in front of the sun, blocking out its sunlight, cooling down the earth, giving a dark shadow over the world. You live in. Well, eventually, though, that cloud passes by and the world, it lights back up again. Kind of like the eclipse that I talked about earlier.

0:09:13 - (Kevin Lowe): That's the same thing with these moments. You don't have to allow it to take over life. No. You just have to be able to recognize it, to respect it, and know when it's time to let it move on. Now, what can be kind of tricky at times is how do we get out of it? Because it's easier said than done to just snap your fingers and who I'm happy again. It typically doesn't work like that. Sometimes you got to put in the effort. It depends on exactly how sad you are, how down you are.

0:09:51 - (Kevin Lowe): But sometimes you might have to work a little bit harder. Sometimes you might have to reach out to a friend. You might need to get outside, switch up your routine, put aside what you're working on, and just go out and do something different. Yeah, I understand. You got deadlines to meet. You got obligations. But you know what? Right now, it's you and your mindset that matter more than anything else.

0:10:18 - (Kevin Lowe): And so it's maybe time, as I said, to break up the routine, to break out of the monotony, to get outside and feel the sunlight, to get your feet in the grass, to just sit there and be present in nature. Nature. I'm telling you, talking about the trees, the grasses, the sun, the wind, I'm telling you, it can do amazing things for us. We don't realize it until we don't have it. So if you've been inside a little too long and you're starting to feel a little bit down, well, my friend, I encourage you to take a step outside, go in your bare feet. Put your bare feet in the wet grass early in the morning and watch the sun rise over the horizon.

0:11:05 - (Kevin Lowe): Feel it, take it all in. I'm telling you, it will do wonders. It's literally like magic. Whatever it is that does it for you, I just want you to not let yourself to stay in the sadness for too long. Because, my friend, as much as I want you to acknowledge it, to recognize it, I also want you to understand that your life, it's more than that. You have more to do, more to accomplish. And there's so much more to you than that sadness.

0:11:40 - (Kevin Lowe): So it's so important for you not to stay there, but to get out as soon as you are able. Here's the biggest thing I want you to remember. You're not alone. If you feel like this, then I'm telling you, so many other people do too. I'm here telling you that I feel like this now. Thankfully for me, these moments, they don't happen very often anymore. Time really and truly is the true healer. And I've been blessed to experience time.

0:12:14 - (Kevin Lowe): And it's made this new world that I live in a little bit easier as time has gone by. But. But I want you to realize that even I, this guy who gets on this podcast twice a week with the intent to pick you up, to hopefully cheer you up, to make you smile. Yeah, even I have some sad days sometimes, just like I did last week. And you know what? It was good to just let myself sit in it. And surprisingly enough, by about lunchtime, I found myself smiling again.

0:12:51 - (Kevin Lowe): I didn't feel that shadow looming over me anymore. I felt cheerful. And I would encourage you that if you feel like you're cast in a shadow, then maybe it's time for you to reach out to a friend, for you to treat yourself to something special, to do something that you love, that lights you up, to let the sunshine start shining on your life again. So, as I wrap up today's short episode, the whole point is letting you know that it's okay to feel the feels.

0:13:27 - (Kevin Lowe): I want you to relish in joy. I want you to understand, though, that it's okay to not be laughing, to not be smiling, to feel a little bit sad. Because, my friend, life is tough. This world we live in, it is a fallen world. We are going to have hard times. It's just a fact of life. So the fact is true. When these hard times hit, when the sad times happen, you are perfectly fine to be sad, to be down.

0:13:59 - (Kevin Lowe): It's perfectly normal. There's nothing wrong with you at all. It just means you are human. So with that, remember, it's okay to feel the sadness, but it's also okay to let it go, my friend. I am Kevin Lowe, host of grit, grace, and inspiration, as well as purpose driven life coach. I'm also encouraging you that if you ever need somebody just to talk to, maybe today's episode resonated with you. And maybe you could just have somebody to talk to.

0:14:35 - (Kevin Lowe): Please check out today's show notes. I'm going to leave a link to my calendar where you can book just a virtual coffee date with me. We'll meet for 30 minutes over the phone and just talk. I would love to be able to help you out however I can. So please remember, check out today's show notes. You'll find all of my contact information, all the resources into today's sponsor, mypillow all the stuff is in the show notes.

0:15:03 - (Kevin Lowe): And with that, I send you out into the world to let your light shine. And just to understand that it's okay, though, if you just want to be a little bit sad today.