Feeling Funky (Blog Post)
Every month or so I will get into, what I call, a āfunkā. Itās that generic feeling of āmehā. Whatās frustrating to me is that, as a highly self-aware person, I canāt always pinpoint what it is that gets me down. This funk is not really an issue in an existential crisis sort of way, but it does hinder productivity and has an impact on my immediate relationships. Weāre blessed with emotions that can elevate experiences, bring a depth and wonder to life, make the highs higher and the lows lower, but emotions can do something else to us, as well. They can lie to us. When we have a thought like, āI have so much to do today. Ugh.ā That āughā is emotion. Itās our response to the thought. And it is this emotion that sends this thought down a pathway in our minds that link it our threat detection system. This threat detection system is what causes so much anxiety. I mean, I definitely want my brain looking out for real threats to keep me safe from bears, break-ins, and other scenarios that can bring harm to me or others, but a thought, dude? Really? What is really leading to this funk, which can also be called burnout, is a loss of focus on The Kingdom of God. We start to center ourselves in the middle of everything, and ultimately, we being to lose focus on God and put the pressure on ourselves, resulting in feelings of stress, depression, burnout, autopilot, anxiety, frustration, and passivity. Matthew 6:33 says to āseek first the Kingdom of God, and everything else will be added to you.ā We need to be reminded constantly where our faith should lie, not in ourselves and our own strength, but in the truth that we are adopted sons into the Kingdom of God through Christās atonement. Therefore, we shouldnāt operate as the world does, but as a citizen of the Kingdom that has come, but also ānot yetā. When Jesus started his ministry he said, āThe time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.ā Mark 1:15 If the Kingdom of God is at hand, but also not fully realized until Christ returns, then what encouragement we can have to rest in the fact that we can: