Try to Balance Feelings and Logic
It often feels like our emotions and our minds are in conflict. When we struggle between how we feel and how we believe we should act, we can feel pulled apart. Those who focus more on feelings than logic tend to be unfair. Whoever cries the hardest gets the attention, even when the crier is in the wrong. This does not mean that logic is better than feeling. Those who put logic ahead of feeling are viewed as cold and uncaring. Those with little expressed feelings often have a difficult time motivating or inspiring others.
According to Dr. Marc Brackett’s book Permission to Feel, “30 percent of elementary and middle school students now experience adjustment problems severe enough to require regular counseling. In economically disadvantaged schools, this runs as high as 60 percent.” Teaching by example and guidance how to balance feelings with thoughtful reflection is vitally necessary for people of all ages. Brackett continues, “…many children today are in serious crisis mode.” Our task is to teach that feelings are simply information on the internal and external events occurring in our life. Logic provides the guidance for evaluating how we are to respond.
Logic without feelings provides us with little important information on how to live a meaningful life. When feelings are strong, we are called to regulate them, rather than allowing them to regulate us. All emotions should be recognized and expressed. Yet, feelings must be informed otherwise they remain unhelpful or even detrimental. Imagine how hard it is to be a child with all those feelings, without the emotional maturity to manage their sensations. The more we can instruct the young, adolescents, and adults in the formation of emotional evaluation, the sooner they will be more comfortable with themselves and others.
Logic and emotion impact each person’s spiritual relationship with God. Our spiritual lives consist in more complexity than simply affirming belief in Jesus Christ. Jesus demands more from the faithful than simple affirmation. Jesus calls us to a complex life, interacting between our emotions, our logic, and our soul. We should not pretend our emotional lives are simple, or easy to control. Emotion and logic inform our faith when we respond with wisdom. It takes a lifetime, and we will never handle our emotions perfectly, but we can improve how we relate to others, ourselves, and our God.