In the mid seventies The Temptations gave us a popular song and a catch phrase that has stood the test of time. It’s so easy to get caught up in the moment, and allow feelings to define and set the stage for your adrenalin to flow unabashed. We get like this when we are excited and exuberant in articulating self-indulgent pleasure. Recently I was a guest at a youth retreat when one of the targeted speakers borrowed this title from the aforementioned singing group, and since it’s now public domain, I’m borrowing it from her! If someone asks you – “how are you feeling?” How would you respond? What constitutes good vibes, and feelings of sheer euphoric bliss? We usually ask these questions when we first meet someone, or when greeting a dear friend, perhaps. Suffice it to say, it’s a legitimate query, and would truly be meaningful if genuine love is applied in an Agape way. In order for that question not to be rudimentary and generic, I wanted to give you just another reason where when asked the same it would elicit a sense of connectivity, and to let the person you ask believe that you are sincere. I will attempt to do this in a spiritual vein using the title of this essay.

With all the obstacles faced in my life, the angst, ill will and stagnations that human nature is offering, drama proliferates and personifies reactionary gestures to stem the tide. It’s just my emotions running away from me when I’m exuberant in my quest for redeeming value. Oftentimes though, we get confused with the true meaning of emotions, and tend to align it with feelings. An emotion, in its most general definition, is an intense mental state that arises autonomically in the nervous system rather than through conscious effort, and evokes either a positive or negative psychological responses. That’s Webster speaking…but a Romerian Proverb of mine would give my interpretation as a “gut reaction too deep for spontaneity to claim it as a natural response, which differentiates it from being just a ‘feeling’ ”. I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to feel whole and be congruous with a pleasant attitude to boot. Each of us has an emotional state where we get highly agitated when things are really flowing. It’s a state of well-being that is just as important to an overall feel-good mode. This is the human nature I spoke of earlier, and when you add a spiritual touch then you add God to the mix. When we invite Him, that whole personage solidifies the completeness we seek, thus eliminating the propensity for bondage, denial, or even emotions holding you hostage to something – real or imagined! But then again, a lot of people are in denial, especially some of us men. There was a time, if not now, where it is/was deemed taboo to cry. This seemingly weak character flaw, along with a person feeling anger, or expressing joy at any appropriate time should not be seen as a lack of self-control. It could be emotions running away!

In the right context, emotions should be celebrated. God wants us to be alive, and living the type of life that would exemplify temperance in health…and it’s healthy to emote. It should be looked at as a gift from Him, and if people ever learn to love each other and live in harmony, the angels and all of heaven would rejoice! Often I look in my midst and see those that are not using harmonious effect to color their world with feelings of good cheer. Their inability to express themselves in the simplest of terms to promote good relationships with friends and family, beget a disenfranchised community. Moreover, it further distances us as a people needing it to foster the coalitions that are missing to be united. You may want to ask yourself, what am I doing to keep lines of communication open so that emotions can give legitimacy to my attempts at stoking the fires of friendship? Learning how to deal with one’s innermost thoughts to elicit change often is the hardest thing for people to grasp. It’s akin to the negative social ill of holding back when you know it’s folly to do so at the expense of emotions gone awry. This brings me to applications that must be in order for good vibes to generate meaningful emotions to stay put for good effect. It’s all about directing them toward the missing spaces and places where we should be in our walk away from enmity toward steps to Christ. Feelings should be expressed without blatant sin to improve relational value in how we deal with each other. If need be, let your emotions run away from you if it means embracing your fellow man responsively.

The same speaker I alluded to earlier gave us poignant and relevant thoughts on how to keep God in the mix and doing more to dig deep within ourselves to initiate emotions. It’s all about learning to articulate what we feel, when we feel it, and how to apply it for the greater good. Maturity, or lack of it will allow others to see just where you are. Could an arguable point be made for our emotions to get us into trouble when there’s misplaced value and emotions not being harnessed? By all means! We allow them to have free rein over the will, and that alone is part of the devil’s playground. If scripture is allowed into regaining runaway emotions then, check out Galatians 5:19-26 and you will find a blueprint to feel challenged to develop greater emotional health as part of spiritual enhancement. We control our emotions better when we truly examine dominant thoughts against ‘thus sayeth the Lord’; when we exercise our privilege to pray; and when we keep vigil on not using discernible options to make your election and calling surest. I believe in this wholeheartedly when I allow just my emotions to run away with me!

For those that are struggling with emotional outbursts, lack of emotion in dealing with your loved ones, or even showing vestiges of imparity in dealing with societal pressures, know that the things that are counter to good emotion would be fear, anxiety, guilt, anger, and rejection. Several keys were made to open those doors with rooms for improvement. When you enter your spiritual House, shed your resistance to establish an audience with Him; read the Bible more for scripture to work for you; share yourself with others; stop dwelling on the past; and most importantly – ask for, and allow the Holy Spirit to be the guiding force behind your quest for emotional stability. Be like me and let your emotions run away with you – but with a plan. I feel that the Lord created emotions for our good, and with a desire to be able to draw beneficial pleasures where feelings are deepest in your response to Him, and to your fellow man. Emotions are real. They are here for us to feel adrenalin and euphoric bliss. If emotions are working for you the way they should, then you will know the greatness of God as shown in Isaiah 40:31 as He alludes to gaining new strength to mount up with wings like eagles, where you will run and not get tired, and walk without becoming weary. You will be encouraged like me, to wait on the Lord and indeed allow emotions to run for a good cause!