Emotions -- What are they good for?

(09.22.2025 – From an earlier Blog page on AbuNana.com. It’s fantastic to see that the insights I shared still resonate! I truly hope it inspires you!)

I’m feeling a bit long-winded today, but there’s so much on my mind! It’s like a fall explosion of ideas inside me! (We live in Washington). I’m thrilled to explore the best version of myself after having lived through challenging times.

Here’s the message: NEVER GIVE UP!

I’ve uncovered the incredible skill of seeing and embracing possibilities, even in the face of pain, fear, irritation, and all the unexpected challenges that life throws our way!

Now several years ago, but when I first wrote this: Three months ago, I had a dramatic fall that shattered my left arm (ulna, radius, humerus, elbow, and wrist) … resulting in the placement of a marvelously engineered 108 mm Ulna Plate, a prosthetic elbow, Radial Stem, and tons of screws!

A FATEFUL TRIP!

I tripped up on a stair just before the first landing the night before Easter. I sprang up like a startled rabbit and dashed down the second flight to collapse onto a chair in the front room. In that whirlwind, I was fixated on my knees hurting while cradling my left arm close to my chest.

When my arm moved, it felt like a chaotic can of pickup sticks rolling around. But I didn’t muster the courage to call 911 until morning… Easter morning!

My left arm, hand, and fingers seemed useless, and my body ached in solidarity. My mind went into shutdown mode, and hope for a brighter future faded. In short, I was in shock!

Yet, life kept nudging me forward! The spring bloomed without me, but it beckoned me back to my true self.

Almost every day, I could feel my confidence blossoming! I chose to focus on the bright side, no matter how loud my inner critics howled with worthless fears.

Here’s my point (please stay with me): there are limitless possibilities available to us, at every single moment!

We just need to make a choice… even when it seems so dark it won't do and more and more, I chose possibilities that thrilled me!

Today, I’m beyond excited to be typing with both hands! Thanks to my decision to embrace thoughts of gratitude about my family, a thoughtful ER team on Easter morning, an incredible surgical team, and a nurturing, cheerful, professional physical therapist team, I’m well on my way to becoming even better than before!

I also recognize that I’ve developed a fantastic skill: Possible-Ability!

What’s most important to me is sharing how this experience has brought me closer to my best self… my grand, vision-filled self! I want to share how I opened myself to possibilities and yet consciously chose to let go of other, less appealing ideas.

Possibilities and the Ability to Accept!

Why this essay?
I hear so many people shouting about how terrible life, this country, our planet, is… and while it may feel true for them, I want to encourage a different perspective!

We have choices waiting for us that are full of potential for joy!

Limitless possibilities mean that we can select the people we surround ourselves with, the activities we engage in, or even how we choose to speak and laugh!

My ah-ha moment means I can choose any possibility that comes my way and follow it, changing my mind only if I want to!

I've discovered a navigational system within myself that lets me know when I'm feeling fragmented. Focusing on the fun, happy, kind, loving things in life is where wholeness, health, happiness, dreams, inclusivity, and my best self thrive!

Let’s encourage Possi-Ability!

You don’t need to suffer a broken bone to embrace this skill. Everyone can participate! Here’s how:

1. Choose to pay attention to your emotions, particularly when they carry messages of anger, sadness, irritation, jealousy, self-doubt, pessimism, fear, revenge, superiority, futility…

   1. WAKE UP! Your TRUE, BEST SELF is with you, independently of your emotions. Remember, what we label as an emotion is merely conveying messages that reflect your thoughts and your current perspective.

   2. Moments of confusion can follow anger or any of those intense, uncontrollable emotions (just like my arm sent out signals of pain when it was broken). The best thing you can do is to pause!

1. Stop ruminating on the thoughts feeding those emotions. Take a moment to breathe, take a nap, enjoy a walk in nature, listen to uplifting music, or watch a feel-good movie… but PUT A STOP to negative thoughts!

Just as there are things in life that people label as terrible, there are unlimited possibilities out there to refresh and uplift you, not just in the world you inhabit, but in realms you haven’t even begun to imagine!

What is Possi-Ability? A Closer Look|AbuNana.com.