WEEK TWO: INSIDE OUT

Did you know that the “Inside Out” movies are being utilized as part of lesson plans for college-level psychology classes and training programs for counseling? They are also being used as a way to get children to talk to their parents and other trusted adults about their emotions in a fun and creative way. Who would have thought that an animated film series showing emotions being embodied as cartoon characters would become a conversation tool for people of all ages to be able to understand and discuss their own mental health?

Why are so many people being impacted by cute portrayals of emotions like Joy, Sadness, Anger, Anxiety, Fear, Disgust, Envy, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Nostalgia? Part of it could be the way the characters remind us of our own childhoods or how they allow us to laugh at some of our personality traits. But I think in a more practical way, the movies have created a visual representation of something that most of us don’t think about or discuss enough. The way that our inner minds work has always felt like a big mystery. It’s hard to understand why our faces flush when we get angry, why our stomach starts to flutter when we’re anxious, or why we sometimes cry when we’re actually happy. This is especially tough for kids who are learning so much so fast and trying to discover who they are as they navigate childhood, puberty, and the complexities of growing up! But even as adults, sometimes we get confused and frustrated by how our minds and bodies respond to the emotions we feel.

And for those of us who believe in God, there’s a spiritual component that isn’t addressed in the movies at all. The movies portray the characters/emotions as actually living within Riley’s mind, and it’s a whole big world in and of itself. The emotions gather each day in the “headquarters” of Riley’s mind, navigating a console to help her through each decision and reaction, collecting memories for her to use to develop beliefs and values, and working together to help her find her “sense of self.” And in our real lives, while we do believe that each of these emotions can be a useful and helpful gift from God, when our identity (our “sense of self”) is rooted in Jesus, we can have a whole different outlook on this inner world of our minds. I Corinthians 2:16 tells us that “we have the mind of Christ.” Because we have the Holy Spirit actually dwelling within us, we can invite God to be at the center of our console, renewing our minds every single day. And while our emotions will still be active all the time, we can have more peace and joy when we surrender to the Spirit, ask for wisdom, and remember that God is in control.