Teachings from the Trail Blog

It strikes me that our society can be void of positive emotions. (Maybe it’s a Midwest thing — all of us Scandinavians or Germans are so stoic.) We do our best not to express our feelings unless we’re feeling angry. Why?

I find it sad. Sad that we aren’t comfortable letting others see who we really are or how we’re feeling. Sad that we may hold back because we perceive others may see us as weak or overly emotional.

The thought first occurred to me at my grandma’s wake a few weeks ago. Family members did their best not to cry. I couldn’t look at my younger cousin because her grief triggered my tears. For Pete’s sake, if you can’t cry when someone dies, when can you? I find myself crying more openly at a sappy, fictitious chic flick than I did at my grandma’s graveside.

In Matthew 5, Jesus said “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” That tells me it’s okay to mourn. It’s okay to cry. It’s natural.

Somewhere in our upbringing, however, we were conditioned not to show our emotions. Crying at work was a sign of weakness. Laughing too much may mean that you don’t take things seriously enough. You might be seen as “flakey.”

The exception is anger. People are all too quick to express their dissatisfaction and outrage. Crabbyness at the grocery store checkout lanes. Road rage. Impatience with children. Anger is all around us and yet smiles, laughter and even healthy sadness are squelched. Maybe we need to focus more on expressing joy and laughter than frustration and anger?

God created us with the full range of emotions. Stifling our emotions is as unnatural as repressing our need to eat. Either we express our emotions in a balanced way, or eat at regular intervals, or we end up bingeing on emotions or food until we are satisfied. Neither is healthy. Suppressing emotions leads to a lack of peace and contentment in life.

When was the last time you had a belly-aching laugh? Have you shed soul-cleansing tears lately? What holds you back from expressing your emotions? Why?

Psalm 30:5b: Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Psalm 94:19: When doubts filled my mind,your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.
Psalm 126:2 We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.
James 1:20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.