Joy. Sadness. Anger. Disgust. Fear. These emotions are the key figures in Disney’s film, Inside Out. Last week, I watched the movie and enjoyed the interplay between the different emotions as characters inside Riley’s head. The movie shows how the different emotions operate and communicate inside of her, and how each of her memories are categorized by a particular emotion. As the simplicity and happiness of childhood gets overpowered by pain and hardship as Riley moves to a new place, her emotions also grow in complexity, and her memories take on a new meaning.
I enjoyed watching this movie because it shows the necessity of integrating all the different emotions – that joy and sadness can all reside together, and that there is room for all of the emotions. In studying human development, I see more and more of how we as humans, are very complex people, and that there are so many different factors and layers in our make-up. I appreciated this movie because it showed the reality of human experience – how all of these emotions are part of us. Growing up, I used to have the idea that feeling sadness or anger was a bad thing, and that I needed to avoid feeling these things at all costs. In recent years, I’ve learned that these emotions are all part of being human, and that it’s o.k. to be sad or angry at times, and it’s all necessary to be integrated as a human.
I’m reminded again of the Psalms, and how the Psalms shows the reality of human emotions – from joyful praise to the Lord (Psalm 100), or mournful lament (Psalm 88), to crying out in anger to destroy the evil men (Psalm 54). It also reminds me that the characters in the Bible were not just holy saints, but were real people too. Even the twelve disciples were real men with different personalities, strengths, and flaws. Seeing the characters of the Bible as real people with real emotions help me see the relevance of their stories to mine today. I also see how God cares for us as whole beings – not only caring about what we do or think, but also about what we feel. In a society which moves so fast, and where identity often comes from what we do or achieve, which propels us to keep on moving faster, it’s difficult to find the time to tend to our inner dispositions, to see what is actually going on below the surface. Yet, God is concerned with our hearts, and not just our actions, and our emotions are part of our who we are.
It’s also humbling to see the effects of our emotions, and how they are indicators of our own frailty, brokenness, and weakness. Feeling grief, pain, and sadness is part of the reality of living in broken world and being fallen people. Yet, it’s comforting to see that there can be joy in the midst of the pain. God can comfort us in those hard places, and that He never leaves or forsakes us, and is always present with us. He also provides people to comfort us in times of sadness and grief, and these relationships show us His love and grace in tangible ways. As Riley’s emotions worked together to ground Riley in the reality of the love of her family and friends, we can also see the ways how the Church can be a family which provides a place of comfort and joy.
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.