You're Allowed to Feel Good Right Now

Have you ever caught yourself whispering about a moment of joy, as if it were a guilty confession during these challenging times? "I had a good day. I went dancing. I laughed till my stomach hurt." And then that familiar shame creeps in—how dare you feel light when the world feels so heavy?

This episode confronts a profound truth many of us struggle with: feeling good is not betrayal—it's a revolutionary act.

We've been conditioned to believe that suffering demonstrates virtue, that burnout proves commitment, that sacrifice equals care. But what if joy isn't a distraction from meaningful engagement with the world's pain? What if it's actually a declaration that you refuse to be devoured by systems never designed for your wholeness?

What You'll Discover:

• How to hold both grief and joy simultaneously
• The difference between spiritual bypassing and embodied discernment
• Why your joy is contagious and models freedom for others
• Practical tools to shift your internal state while honoring pain

Through powerful reflections and a guided mindful moment, we explore being awake to suffering while still letting sunlight kiss your skin, holding the weight of the world while dancing barefoot in your kitchen.

Your joy is contagious, your rest demonstrates sustainability, and your aliveness models freedom for others. Let your softness be the protest, your breath be the resistance, and your joy be the revolution our world desperately needs.

Ready to go deeper? Join the Emotional Sobriety Workshop to learn how to feel deeply while staying grounded, to care while protecting your peace, to be present to pain while remaining available to pleasure.

Because your joy is not a distraction from the work—it is the work.

🔗 www.liftoneself.com/emotionalsobriety

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Lift One Self

Transcript

NatNat: 0:03

Hey, love, whether this is your first time here or you're a regular, welcome home. I'm your host, nat Nat, and this is the Lift One Self podcast. If you're new here, hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out what we're building together. And if you've been riding with me for a while, thank you. I'd love for you to leave a comment letting me know where you're listening from. If today's message resonates, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your engagement helps this reach the people who need it most and also supports the Lift One Self podcast.

NatNat: 0:40

Now, today's episode is a necessary one, not solely because of what's happening out there in the world. Also because of what's happening in here, in our bodies, our minds and our spirits. Let me say this clearly Feeling good is not betrayal. It's a revolutionary act. We are living in a time of crisis, collapse and constant grief, and somewhere along the way, many of us started to question our right to joy, to rest, to pleasure, to breathe without guilt. We whisper it like a secret.

NatNat: 1:19

I had a good day. I went out dancing. I laughed till my stomach hurt. Day I went out dancing, I laughed till my stomach hurt. And then the shame creeps in, because how dare we feel light when the world feels heavy? Here's what I need to tell you your joy is not tone deaf, it's sacred. You're not ignoring the world. You are refusing to let it devour you. Ignoring the world, you are refusing to let it devour you. We've been conditioned to believe that in order to be good, we must suffer, shrink sacrifice. Yet love, joy is not a distraction. It's a declaration. It says I will not give every piece of myself to systems that were never built for my wholeness. It says I matter too. You can be awake to suffering and still taste something sweet. You can be in grief and still let the sunlight kiss your skin. You can hold the weight of the world and still dance barefoot in your kitchen. Heck, go dance barefoot in the grass. This isn't spiritual bypass, it's embodied discernment, it's the wisdom of knowing when to engage and when to exhale.

NatNat: 2:35

You know, while I was out this weekend, someone said something that really stayed with me. They said I don't want the party to end, I just want to keep dancing and dancing, and dancing. And I felt that I think all of us relate to that moment when we're high on connection, joy, music, movement. We just want to stretch it out, make it last, bottle it up and sip it slowly. Bottle it up and sip it slowly Because, deep down, we've all been taught this unspoken rule that joy is fleeting and something hard is always around the corner, that we shouldn't get too comfortable feeling good because life is gonna life.

NatNat: 3:19

And, yes, life does life. Grief still visits, life does life. Grief still visits. Our days still come, and here's the reframe I'm offering.

NatNat: 3:30

Who said joy isn't allowed to last? Who decided that lightness must always be temporary? Who told us we need to feel guilty for feeling good? What if it's not about chasing the high? What if it's about building the muscle to return to it, to remember that we can shift our internal state, not to avoid the pain, yet to reclaim our power in the midst of it? Just like my client, sarah, who texted me yesterday, I was crying about the state of the world in the morning and by the afternoon I was belly laughing with my kids at the park. I used to think that made me heartless. Now I know it makes me human. Thanks, nat, nat, for helping me remember this. Joy isn't fragile, it's resilient and it's your birthright. So the next time you catch yourself wanting to dance longer, laugh louder or stay in the light a little more. Do it and let that be your revolution.

NatNat: 4:33

Speaking of revolution, let's take a mindful moment to amplify that feeling of aliveness. Let's drop into the body for a moment, if it's safe, gently close your eyes, if not just soften your gaze and turn your awareness inward. Take a breath, not a perfect one, just a real one. Feel the inhale stretch across your ribs and the exhale remind you you are still here, still breathing, still choosing to stay. Now, gently scan your body, feel where you've been tensing for too long jaw your chest, your shoulders, your belly soften. Let this moment remind you your joy is not a luxury, it's a lifeline. Feeling good it's not betrayal, it's your birthright. Take another breath and, as you exhale, release the lie that says you must burn out to prove you care. Let this breath be an act of defiance, let this softness be sacred, let this aliveness be enough and, as gently return, carry this quiet revolution in your body, because every time you choose presence, you interrupt the systems that benefit from your disconnection.

NatNat: 6:19

You are allowed to feel good right here, right now. You don't owe anyone your burnout. You don't have to collapse to be compassionate. You are not more righteous because you're exhausted. Let that land. There is so much pain in the world. Yes, we must care deeply and we must remember aliveness is contagious. When you light up others, remember their spark. When you smile without apology, you model freedom. When you rest, you remind us what sustainability looks like. So let this be your soul note for the week. So let this be your soul note for the week.

NatNat: 7:08

You are allowed to feel joy in the middle of the mess. You are allowed to celebrate even when others don't understand. You are allowed to choose your mental health over martyrdom. Let your joy be the protest. Let your breath be the resistance. Let your softness be the protest. Let your breath be the resistance, let your softness be the revolution.

NatNat: 7:28

And if this resonates with you, if you're ready to stop swinging between numbness and overwhelm and start meeting your emotions with presence and power, I'd love to welcome you into my emotional sobriety workshop. It's where we learn to hold both the beauty and the breakdown, where we use the body as a compass to navigate life's complexity. We don't bypass emotions. We build capacity to feel and hold it all without losing ourselves in it. Think of it like this Instead of choosing between feeling everything or nothing. You learn to feel it all and stay grounded to care deeply and protect your peace, to be present to pain and available to pleasure. You can join us at liftoneselfcom forward slash emotional sobriety. It's gentle, it's potent and it's waiting for you when you're ready to come home to yourself. The link is in the show notes. Until next time, be kind to yourself, be bold in your boundaries and remember you're not selfish for choosing aliveness. You're worthy of your own joy. Your joy is not a distraction from the work. It is the work. Time is your currency. How are you spending it?