A life of possibility

An excerpt from Feel, Heal, and Let That Sh*t Go, by Rachel Kaplan

You may be feeling heavy after the deep dive into the shit show of the commodified avoidance of emotional pain. Perhaps you feel hopeless, asking yourself, What’s the point anyway? and Is there any escaping the suffering of trying not to suffer?! (Maybe read that again.)

Then guess what time it is. It’s time for a quick pep talk about what’s possible for you if you choose the red pill of actually turning toward your feelings and healing your life. Spoiler alert: it’s beautiful, satisfying, and even magical. Even if the world presented in this chapter feels too good to be true, it’s not. The beauty and wellness available through the healing path outlined in this book are not for everyone else. They are for you.

I want you to know that another way is possible. A more peaceful and more fulfilled life is possible. The first big step is to face something that’s terrifying, something you may have been avoiding for a very long time. You may have been chasing after all those other things like validation, wealth, entertainment, distraction. Now it’s time for you to do an about-face and, with some help, turn toward the part of you that you fear. The good news is that being scared of what you don’t know is the worst part. After that it all gets easier.

Eric: You have to be willing to feel the fear. It’s the fear of feeling the fear that has kept you in the position you are in, seeking some external distractions to ameliorate it. You have to be willing to be with the fear. As Ms. Kaplan said, “The only way out is through.” You have to live through going through.

Once you face your terror of the unknown, day by day, chapter by chapter, you will uncover more tools and strategies for supporting yourself, for creating a relationship with your authentic self, which was always worthy of love but maybe didn’t know it or somewhere along the way forgot. You will learn how to take in the joys of your already blessed life and create more blessings that you cannot yet imagine.

Learning to feel your feelings is the foundation on which you build a life full of magic. I realize this might sound a bit woo-woo, but what you actually achieve, this magic, is the alignment that comes when you can feel not only who you are but how you are. Therefore, to know and feel your emotions becomes an internal compass telling you whether you are on the right track with your life. How can you know you’re on the right track if you’re too busy trying to be who you think you’re supposed to be? You can’t. Once you learn to be and support who you are, you will really start living, full of that unique, quirky essence that only you can bring forward.

I’m sure you’ve heard Oscar Wilde’s quip, “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” It’s true. Real joy in life is not to be gotten by achieving all those aforementioned benchmarks we’ve been scripted to reach for ourselves. Authentic joy comes when we learn to delight in who we really are and when we draw people to us who truly love who we are. Joy comes when we discover and then bring our unique gifts to the world.

I’ve got news for you. Our world needs you. We are in an intense place of change and challenge, awakening and destruction. In order to be of service, you first need to know who you are, feel who you are, and heal who you are. Moreover, we can’t have empathy for someone else’s pain if we’re too busy trying to avoid our own. My hypothesis is that when we human beings, as a species, are able to digest our emotions as regularly as we poop, we will help bring peace, equality, and compassion to all living beings and to the planet.

Excerpted from the book Feel, Heal, & Let that Sh*t Go. Copyright © 2024 by Rachel Kaplan. Reprinted with permission from New World Library. www.newworldlibrary.com