Emotions are very intense, consuming, and almost impossible to control. Perhaps that is one of our most difficult challenges; we try to control our emotions under extreme duress. They do not develop or surface in an orderly manner. As one writer describes it, you cannot check off emotions as if on a list. One minute we may be sobbing and the next struggling with depression and guilt. It is not uncommon for these manifold emotions to become entangled and swirling in our mind.
As a result we may feel overwhelmed and out of control in regard to our emotions. This is a very uncomfortable and frightening position to find ourselves. It is also common for our ability to focus and concen trate to be impaired. Thus response may be confusing. We may want people around us sometimes and then other times we may desire to be alone. “If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales. It would surely outweigh the sands of the sea; no wonder my words have been rash.”
I think we have gone through a metamorphosis in recent generations. I think our parents and grandparents knew how to cope better than we seem to be. Maybe they were more resolute than we appear to be today. I think it involves two crucial ingredients that we need more, faith and hope. We need to grow in these two characteristics. When we have hope, a deep abiding hope for the future we will be able to withstand the storms of life firmly. Hope exists when faith is alive and strong.
Families are not as important as they once were. We need to resurrect our value of being a part of and depending on a family system, whether physical, spiritual or preferably both. This is Sunrise.
