What’s Happening, Brother?
Open up, man. I love you.
Hey man, what’s going on?
What’s happening with you?
These are both lyrics taken from a Marvin Gaye album that I love — What’s Going On. They’re both ways to coax a defensive man out of his hiding place, to express his truth.
When Gaye put the finishing touches to this masterpiece, he was experiencing a lot. Grief for the loss of his lover and singing partner Tami Terrell, sadness for his brother Frankie who had just come back from Vietnam with horror stories — that’s the second song on the album, and frustration that Motown wouldn’t allow him to expand into protest songs.
In life, we all experience a plethora of expected and unexpected things.
It’s essential that you process what’s happening to you, and how you feel about it.
Repressing emotion doesn’t lead to any easy life, it leads to bodily stresses and strains, and then when those weights become too great to bear, explosive behaviour. This behaviour can have us saying things or acting things that are way out of integrity zone.
It’s imperative to express your truth in a relationship; otherwise, you hide in some form of shame around feelings.
