How do you Feel? How many times in a day do you get asked that question? I wear several “hats”; I am a woman (just celebrated my jubilee year), a wife, a mother, an employee as a project manager for a Fortune 250 Company in Florida, a mentor, a mentee, a counselor (Reg. Intern), a bird watcher and gardener, a runner who can’t run anymore due to injuries, a daughter, a sister, a friend and a follower of Christ. In each of those roles at any given time I have multiple hats on, yet one is dominant at the moment of inquiry.
When asked that question, “How do you feel?” my immediate inclination is to respond from the dominant “hat”. As a mom, my response will likely be related to the child or other relative asking. As a PM, my response may come from the level of “stress” and unreported activities of that day. As a follower of Christ … wow. I get stopped right there. How do I feel … sometimes I feel really joyful, happy, peaceful, confident, calm, silly. And sometimes I feel stressed, sad, angry, frustrated, humiliated. And how do I handle that as a “follower of Christ”.
The other day a co-worker came up to me as I was completing a presentation, hanging up the phone from a team member and a meeting reminder was flashing on my computer . He just poked his head in my cubicle to say “how are you doing?” “How are you today?” … in essence “How do you feel?” My immediate inclination was to “bite his head off”; and then he smiled as I was gathering my composure. I was immediately changed, because of his smile.
Most of my co-workers know that I am a “Christ-ian”; others’ interpret a known Christian’s behavior all the time. So how does a human, follower of Christ handle those not so Christ-like moments? I can share with you what I did … and on this occasion I did better than I have done in the past. And the reason I did better was because he was Christ-like to me first. He smiled.
I took a breath, asked him into my cubicle, shared that I was expected at a meeting and trying to complete a presentation all at the same time. We laughed about our work load and then exchanged quick remarks about being thankful for our jobs. He shared his update; I thanked him and then arrived 5 minutes late (yet, the first one to the room) for the meeting.
We don’t always have the grace to receive a smile that inevitably softens our first-flash emotions; so what can we do to create a buffer, a cue, a reminder that when we are feeling stressed, angry, frustrated we need to still react with wisdom and love? How do we use the energy from that emotion positively?
FEEL has some great suggestions, the Bible does too. I recommend taking a long slow, intentional breath. Then consider gratitude for the person or the stressor … we rarely get “better” unless we are challenged or made uncomfortable. With gratitude or compassion for the stressor we begin to stretch toward feeling like Christ might have on many occasions. When Jesus was burnt out, exhausted, needed rest he still put others first. He was most emotionally driven by others needs, not his own.
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” Mark 6: 34.
How do you feel? Would love to hear from you...Deb
How do you feel ... ? What a question!
How do you Feel? How many times in a day do you get asked that question? I wear several “hats”; I am a woman (just celebrated my jubilee year), a wife, a mother, an employee as a project manager for a Fortune 250 Company in Florida, a mentor, a mentee, a counselor (Reg. Intern), a bird watcher and gardener, a runner who can’t run anymore due to injuries, a daughter, a sister, a friend and a follower of Christ. In each of those roles at any given time I have multiple hats on, yet one is dominant at the moment of inquiry.
When asked that question, “How do you feel?” my immediate inclination is to respond from the dominant “hat”. As a mom, my response will likely be related to the child or other relative asking. As a PM, my response may come from the level of “stress” and unreported activities of that day. As a follower of Christ … wow. I get stopped right there. How do I feel … sometimes I feel really joyful, happy, peaceful, confident, calm, silly. And sometimes I feel stressed, sad, angry, frustrated, humiliated. And how do I handle that as a “follower of Christ”.
The other day a co-worker came up to me as I was completing a presentation, hanging up the phone from a team member and a meeting reminder was flashing on my computer . He just poked his head in my cubicle to say “how are you doing?” “How are you today?” … in essence “How do you feel?” My immediate inclination was to “bite his head off”; and then he smiled as I was gathering my composure. I was immediately changed, because of his smile.
Most of my co-workers know that I am a “Christ-ian”; others’ interpret a known Christian’s behavior all the time. So how does a human, follower of Christ handle those not so Christ-like moments? I can share with you what I did … and on this occasion I did better than I have done in the past. And the reason I did better was because he was Christ-like to me first. He smiled.
I took a breath, asked him into my cubicle, shared that I was expected at a meeting and trying to complete a presentation all at the same time. We laughed about our work load and then exchanged quick remarks about being thankful for our jobs. He shared his update; I thanked him and then arrived 5 minutes late (yet, the first one to the room) for the meeting.
We don’t always have the grace to receive a smile that inevitably softens our first-flash emotions; so what can we do to create a buffer, a cue, a reminder that when we are feeling stressed, angry, frustrated we need to still react with wisdom and love? How do we use the energy from that emotion positively?
FEEL has some great suggestions, the Bible does too. I recommend taking a long slow, intentional breath. Then consider gratitude for the person or the stressor … we rarely get “better” unless we are challenged or made uncomfortable. With gratitude or compassion for the stressor we begin to stretch toward feeling like Christ might have on many occasions. When Jesus was burnt out, exhausted, needed rest he still put others first. He was most emotionally driven by others needs, not his own.
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” Mark 6: 34.
How do you feel? Would love to hear from you...Deb
Posted by Deb banister-hazama in Questions and Comments | Permalink