Wholeness

The other week, our family went to go see the new movie, Inside Out.  The story is about the five emotions who live in a tween girl's, Riley, head.  They are pictured above (anger, fear, joy, disgust and sadness).  The movie is insightful and inspired.  It tells a powerful story about the power of emotions, how some emotions in some of us are more dominate than others, and how we need all our emotions to be whole and healthy.

Which emotions tends to run the show in your head?  Or, what is your natural, normal reaction to a situation: anger, fear, joy, disgust or sadness?  Of course, we feel all these emotions and it depends a lot on the situation.  But over time, which one do you feel most in a week?  Emotional health has not always been a topic of research.  There was a time when solider's returning from war or people going through crisis were told, "Just get over it."  As though paying attention to our emotions was not worthy of our attention or energy.  If you Google, "emotional health or intelligence" there is a plethora of information.

Click here to read a post from Psychologist Today.

Or click here to read an article from The Atlantic from another perspective.

What both agree on is that emotions are part of our life.  They do impact and influence what we do and say.  Trying to ignore what is going on in that grey matter between our ears or when our gut aches from something someone said or posted about us on-line, only pushes down what will inevitably come back.  Or, "Pain that is not processed is passed along."  The image of someone getting yelled at, who in tune yells at someone else is truth.  We know it.  We've done it.  We've been on the receiving end of that.

While the church talks about "Love" and "Joy" as emotions, we rarely talk about anger, disgust, fear (other than to quote the angel at Jesus' birth about not being afraid) or sadness (except at a funeral).  Perhaps that sense is we should all be happy...but as we learn in the film...totally spoiler alert... emotions need each other and to feel one emotion, we need the others.

I invite you to consider your own emotional health, notice your natural reactions and responses this week.  And as you do that may the grace of God enfold you, reminding you we are created in the image of God...that means all of us...from our heads to our toes...for our emotions to our reasons... from our connections to our sense of who we are.  May that truth guide you in the living out of these days.