I have always been a little (cough, a lot) on the emotional side. Anyone who knows my mother knows that the crying apple doesn't fall far from the crying tree. If apples fell from Weeping Willows, it would be our story.
It was kind of the joke of my study abroad trip to Greece, Israel, and Egypt in college: "Ashton is crying again!"
The tour guide would tell us the Apostle Paul walked here. Cry.
"We are walking the path where Jesus carried the cross." Cry.
Here are the pyramids. Cry. Ok, I didn't cry at the pyramids...that I recall.
Being an emotional person, a feelings-driven person, a justice-oriented person seems to be the target of many jokes and eye rolls lately.
I get that, like with everything, feelings can be taken too far. But I also know that, regardless of reason, making fun of young people for seeking counsel if they need it or crying if they need to can have detrimental consequences.
It's one of the reasons I didn't go to counseling for depression and anxiety until I was 27 years old. Because I was being silly. Because my life was easy. I had no reason to be sad.
Most of these kids aren't just sad because their person didn't win. It's about who won for them. It's about their friends that are different than them. It's about their future and their graduation. As someone who graduated during the last recession, I can say that policy decisions are sometimes worth crying over (I didn't cry until I was turned down for every job I interviewed for).
I think we also forget sometimes that Jesus was a passionate person and felt things deeply. He was a compassionate champion for lepers, for widows, for the downcast.
He often addressed religious leaders with anger, while also being distraught that he couldn't seem to soften their hardened hearts. Their behavior outraged him but their spirits caused him grief. And remember when he turned tables? His anger served a purpose and renewed the mission the temple was created to serve.
He wept at the tomb of Lazarus. He grieved intensely about the destruction of Jerusalem.
This doesn't even encompass the emotional component of Jesus. Every interaction rocked his spirit and every person he came across stuck with him as he journeyed through his time on Earth.
I think young people today have yoked themselves with this Jesus. Circular theological discussions in a classroom have been replaced with the desire to act, to make a difference, to experience. Feelings have become the beating heart and the compass.
Does this approach sometimes lead to mistakes or poor judgment calls? Absolutely. Does it sometimes not give someone the entire perspective of a situation? I'm sure it does.
But if their learning curve is in the name of social justice and compassion and making a difference, who are we to criticize them and ridicule them?
Feelings and emotions are no longer a thing to be hidden; they are no longer seen as a hindrance but a strength; they are the window to the soul and an explanation of who we are.
Times have changed. People have changed. Motivations and inspirations have changed.
And that's OK.
Instead of all the negativity and shaming, we need to accept how the world works now. We need to reach them where they are and guide them using the knowledge we have of their language and their needs.
Our maturity can steady their newly discovered emotions and their ability to tap into their feelings can get us to become more aware of our own thoughts, fears, and dreams.
The world needs us both.
Let's act like it.
