t h o u g h t s || These days I've been trying to live life more mindfully and to process my emotions rather than being so detached to it. I feel like we've become too much of an "I'm fine" society. "I'm fine." A socially conditioned response rolling off the tip of our tongue even before the end of the question. And I get it. The question is meant more as a greeting rather than as an actual question. But I feel like this socially conditioned answer to the question has become so seeped into our mindset that in all situations, whether in the deeps of the valley or in the highs of the mountain top, our brain automatically puts out that easy "I'm fine" answer. I know many of us can relate to that viral meme of the cartoon dog sitting inside a burning house going, "This is fine." But is it really fine to live like this? I don't know about you, but I want to feel. Feel everything. To feel the deep sting in my soul when I'm betrayed by a friend, to feel the pain of the people crying out against injustice, to feel the heaviness of life as burdens, sicknesses, and death surrounds us. Because it's these unwelcomed, not fine feelings like loneliness, pain, and sorrow that reminds me to appreciate the beauty of life and the beauty of the gospel even more. To breathe in the fresh air of love into the deep hollows of my soul, to have strength to hope and believe for a better future, and to see how light shines each morning to brighten even the darkest of nights. I would rather live a not fine life being fully present, than a fine life being mindlessly numb. #kilonthoughts

A post shared by Sharon Kilon Han (@sharonkilonhan) on Jul 7, 2017 at 12:55pm PDT