[be well] water

Our second stop on our walk through wellness and the elements brought us to water. We chose water as our next theme because it built perfectly upon the earth as a grounded space. If earth is the embodiment of groundedness, water is the embodiment of fluidity. It ebbs and flows just like the emotions we often associate with water.  

For this conversation, we focused on the connection between water and emotions. Emotions, like water, hold duality; they can refresh and renew or destroy and bring destruction when not properly respected or cared for.

Emotions can feel like such a daunting topic. All of us experience them. They are what makes us human. They give us a range of experiences, yet we often live at a pace and in a society that demands we suppress them.

Often, we are told that only our positive emotions are the ones to lean into. We have constructed entire industries around selling joy, but how can one recognize joy without its shadow sister, pain? To fully understand our emotions, we have to be open to the entirety of their spectrum and approach them with curiosity rather than shame, with trust rather than mistrust. If we shut down to our emotions, we can begin to exist on a stagnant emotional plane, which can sometimes veer into numbness and a state of freeze.

Our panelist Afeni, a holistic healer, experience and culture curator at The Gantt, and generally radiant human shared how living in an extended state of freeze and numbness can leave us feeling comfortable with panic, anxiety, and stress and uncomfortable with emotions of peace, harmony, love, or even at times, joy. She challenged us to learn how to face and name our emotions so we can further nurture trust in what our body is communicating to us.

To name our emotions, we must feel equipped to identify them, and for most of us, our emotional literacy and tolerance come from our family of origin.

Our panelist Khaleel from Lloyd Studios spoke to the power of being raised in a household that centered emotional expression and emotional literacy and how this has led him to use these skills to explore other people's stories with emotion and heart at the center. He was joined by Will from BLKMRKT in this discussion of how your family of origin's narrative around emotions can leave you on your own path to breaking or continuing your family's emotional legacy. Will shared how, from an early age, he was taught that "boys don't cry" and that, as an adult, this has been a belief he has had to challenge through intentional action, therapy, and nurturing.

We asked our panelist for the songs that feel emotion packed and those are below:

Next week we will journey from water to fire to build from our awareness to our purpose.

Thanks for following around

• M