All you need is Love! (… and a healthy balance of everything else)

Listen. One of my core values in life is love. I love LOVE!!! I truly do. And I have been bit by the monster of toxic positivity a few times in my life.

Many of my friends have told me: “well, at least you have trouble not being negative …”

But the truth is, I have dismissed, instructed others on, avoided and downright ignored challenges emotions in my life too often due to toxic positivity.

So, yes, I love love, and there is space in my heart for hate, as well. There is space in my life for discontent, aversion, antagonism, revulsion, disgust, and even hatred. To deny my feelings of hatred is to repress it. And I have seen all too often what happens when you put a lid on a scary box of emotions in your body - it festers.

For instance, I have a serious hatred for being in the hot sun for too long. I hate having irritated tastebuds on my tongue. I hate feeling trapped or stuck. I dislike sugary beverages. I am disgusted by scalloped potatoes. The smell of fresh papaya makes me cringe. And I do not like an overcooked egg.

It’s okay to have things that I hate. We cannot just paint the world in magical rainbows of bright shiny colors and pretend the smelly, nasty, repulsive things in the world do not exist.

Aversion stirs us. Pain and discomfort inspire us to take action to change things.

What do you hate? Write a poem and share it with me, and I will share with you my recent poem on all things putrid to me!