“In Irish when you talk about an emotion, you don’t say, ‘I am sad.’ You’d say, ‘Sadness is on me – Ta’ Bron Orm.’ I love that because there’s an implication of not identifying yourself with the emotion fully. I am not sad, it’s just that sadness is on me for a while. Something else will be on me another time, and that’s a good thing to recognize.” -P.O. Tuama

This is something that washed over me like a cool breeze in the Arizona summer. A beautiful sensation that I won’t forget, no matter how hot life gets. Many of us face challenges and are overcome by negativity or run by emotions. We so easily get hijacked by the world around us, the people we meet along the way, or the chaos of it all. We all have said one time or another “I’m angry,” “I’m depressed,” or “I’m stressed” but maybe we all need to change the basics of that narrative.

“Anger is on me,” “Depression is on me,” and “Stress is on me.” Instead of claiming the label of the feeling we can make an easy adjustment to recognize these things are not who we are. They are not part of us. They just move in and move out and are part of the fluidity of life. None of it is permanent and that is the coolest breeze in summer I have ever felt.

You are who you are. Not the passing things you think and feel. Don’t give them residence, just know the cool breeze is coming to carry them away.

Sarah Deats

Sarah Deats is the Hope Inc. Stories Inspiration Engineer. Her goals are to make a connection with everyone that she can while building community, spreading hope, and sparking change. She believes that while life may not be easy, it is never lived alone.