Flowing Rivers

I used to tell my friends ”pretend you are happy until you really are.”

But I realized how wrong I was.
Now I say feel the depth of every emotion,
let it take your hand and carry you,
as if you are a boat.
And it’s an aggressively flowing river.
Let the waves crash you down and cut your sails into tiny threads,
let the seaweed strangle your legs.
Dive into every emotion until you can no longer breathe,
but remember that you are still the master of your seas.