Emotions Are Just Information: What a Morning Walk Taught Me About Processing Feelings

I was out walking, pushing the stroller, dog by my side, and I was absolutely fired up. My six year old had woken up early, could not fall back asleep, and went and woke up his little brother who loves to sleep in. On a big exciting day when they were already up way too late the night before.

I was livid.

And instead of going home and letting everyone feel it, I kept walking. That decision ended up being the whole lesson.

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Say the Thing Out Loud

The first thing I did was let myself feel it.

Out loud.

I kept walking and just kept saying all the words. I am so angry. I am irate. I cannot believe this. He should have known better. All of it. No filter, no editing, no trying to be the bigger person yet. Just full honest acknowledgment of what I was actually feeling in that moment.

I called my husband, woke him up, and told him to let the boys know there would be no screen time as a reward for waking up early. I told him I would be home soon and would hopefully not bite anyone's heads off.

And then I kept walking.

What Movement Did for My Anger

There is something real about moving your body when you are carrying a big emotion. Anger especially. It is energy and it needs somewhere to go.

Walking gave it somewhere to go.

Within five minutes of processing out loud and moving through it physically, the heat had passed. The story I was telling myself started to quiet down. By the time I got home I did not need to yell. I just needed a calm conversation.

Do we wake up our little brother? No we don't. That was it.

No rage, no over the top consequence I would have had to walk back later, no apology needed.

Five minutes. That was all it took.

"Emotions are not problems to solve or feelings to suppress.

They are information about a thought you had."

Emotions Are Information, Not Emergencies

"The most important thing we can do when we react in ways we are not proud of is say we are sorry and move on. Not shame ourselves into the ground about it."

What I realized on that walk was that emotions are not problems to solve or feelings to suppress.

They are information about a thought you had.

They show up, they tell you something, and then they need to move through. The key is giving them just enough attention to do that without letting them run the whole show. When we resist emotions or shove them down, they tend to come out sideways later.

Usually on the people we love most.

But when we acknowledge them, name them out loud, and let them move through, they lose their grip so much faster than we expect.

Grace for Your Humanness

If I had been home when it happened, I probably would have yelled. I probably would have said things I did not mean and felt terrible about it afterward.

And that would have been okay too, because that is human.

The most important thing we can do when we react in ways we are not proud of is say we are sorry and move on. Not shame ourselves into the ground about it. Shame only makes the pattern worse. It shows up more, not less, when we pile guilt on top of it.

Awareness is what actually changes things.

The more grace we show ourselves in the hard moments, the more we grow into the version of ourselves we actually want to be.

"The more grace we show ourselves in the hard moments, the more we grow into the version of ourselves we actually want to be."

Try It Next Time

What surprised me most was how simple it was. Get outside. Move. Say the words out loud even if it feels silly. Name what you are feeling without judgment.

Give it five minutes.

The emotion passed so much faster when I stopped fighting it and just let it move through. I did not need to white knuckle my way through the morning or give myself a pep talk. I just needed to feel it, move it, and let it go.

That is it. That is the whole thing.

Cheering you on 📣

Brynne

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Hi, I’m Brynne. I share my journey of becoming through stories and reflection - guided by a higher power as I explore identity, faith, and everyday life, inviting you to grow alongside me.

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