We're half way through summer time here in the northern hemisphere. I just returned for a lovely weekend out in the wilderness. I saw a black bear, schools of salmon, several eagles and a beaver. Summer time.

My work as a naturopathic doctor and a master Brain-Based Transformational Coach is flavored richly by Traditional Chinese Medicine. In this philosophy, there are 5 elements that govern the world we live in and how our bodies interact with it. Each element corresponds to a different season and emotion.

We're in the "heart" of the fire element right now. I put "heart" in quotation marks because this element governs the heart organ (and the small intestine.)

Fire is associated with passion. Ignition. Love in its most primitive form. That spark. You know the one?

You probably do know. If you're anything like me at times that spark might be the thing that you tend to ignore?

It might have started as a whisper. It makes you giddy with excitement. Laughter erupts when you imagine it.

But at the same time it terrifies you.

So you don't let it shine.

You're trying to control the flames. And in doing so you sequester your own joy, the prime emotion associated with these summer months.

As if trying to convince me, I learned from 3 different sources that joy is the most vulnerable of emotions. Weird, eh? Joy? It takes incredible courage to really let it in, and let it stay there.

Think of how fleeting a camp fire is. One moment it is stretching up to the sky, and the next it is burning in mere embers.

One minute we're laughing away at the silliest, most special inside joke with our friends or family, and the next we're catastrophizing the grand accident that is sure to wipe them all away, leaving us alone and miserable.

Do you ever find yourself doing that?

Isn't it so bizarre?

Feeling joy takes risk.

As easily as it arrives, we know at a deep level that it might go just as easily.

Our systems create protective mechanisms. "Lets prevent ourselves from fully feeling joy so we don't risk the disappointment of loss," our subconscious says.

It seems so wacky, but the more I explore this concept the more it seems to be accurate. I'm learning I didn't have the whole story before.

I'm all about helping people live their healthiest, most delightful life. Laughter. Love. Joy. You know, all that good stuff.

To love and live fully, we need to be prepared to experience all the emotions - worry, fear, anger, joy, and grief. (You may describe more, but these are the five primary ones in Chinese Medicine).

All of these emotions serve a purpose; all are imperative to experience. Joy is no better than the others. It is overrated on its own. It's equally as necessary. It needs all the other emotions just to exist.

And back to the idea of vulnerability. It takes courage to experience joy.

Courage is the override button for fear.

So fear can be one of the drivers to your joy.

That little voice that says, "Go paint," "Surf more," or "Do a single-handed rotating handstand on stop of a 20 food pole in front of street crowds,"** may be terrifying to you.

And that terror may be a good sign you're on the way to joy.

For the remainder of this summer, notice when you are feeling fear. See if you can't turn on your courage button to allow that fear sublimate into joy. Give that whisper a chance to spark to life.

To you delightful, thriving, joyful life,

Dr. Tonia

**I recently witnessed a man do just that. In fact he travels the world doing it and making a living at it.