ugh! too much touchy-feely

i grew up in a German-Lutheran farming community in rural Iowa. in case you're not aware, that basically means i've been bred and raised to have only two emotions: happy and angry. we drive big trucks, work with our hands, eat steak drink beer and watch football on sundays. we are simple folk who don't like to hear about one another's feelings or talk about the touchy-feely stuff. i've made it farther than my father and i can hold my wife's hand in public without getting all twitchy. don't get me wrong, i love my wife, but i do so on our own time behind closed doors.

my bad luck is that i chose to enter into a field where i must go to seminary and aquire an mDiv (master's of divinity) and be trained as a general pastor. the disconnect is that i am an academic. my undergrad consisted of theology, strictly theory and thought, and classical philosophy. i don't sit in a circle, hold hands or sing "Kumbaya", but

now i find myself in a two week modular course called "intro to counseling" which is basically a big love-in where we share experiences, role-play and talk about caring. basically i've been sitting in the back of the class physically itching with discomfort for the last 6 hours and i get to do it all again tomorrow! BTW, if anyone in here tries to hug or cry on me i'm going to slug them.

i'm not going anywhere with this one, but i figured i'd let you folks in on the little corner of hell i'm in right now. thankfully i have my laptop so i've been catching up on builds and other stuff here on 3reef as well as planning out my future predator tank! chin up and make the best of it sort of thing.

 

Sounds like someone needs a hug.

 

Pack you're so bad

 

He's so bad that he's good.

 

LOL Jason.

Everyone has their own comfort level with these things. I was raised a proper German and was uncomfortable too. Life kinda threw me a curveball and I ended up being a lay-counselor who has heard everything under the sun. Additionally, it would not shock me if I've hugged over 1000 different people. It doesn't bother me anymore obviously.

 

yeah, i'd think twice about that, pack. i'm a big guy.

why can't we just bury and kill our emotions and raise high the sterile, clean and shiny rationality? sentiment is sloppy and disordered while objectivity is firm, concrete, trustworthy and unyielding.

 

I hate to admit it but I'm the same way. I hate touchy feely situations. Heck, I'm often uncomfortable hugging many of my family members. Being a female, I find it somewhat difficult to really bond with most women because of this. When I see a female co-worker start squirting tears, my immediate instinct is to run and hide

 

Joseph

my advice is - try and break the mold, destroy the stereotype
be open to new experiences and sensations

A high EQ , may not give the same bragging rights as a high IQ
but it will increase your circle of genuine friends and thus the potential for an improvement on a " quality of life"

been there, done that, learned to appreciate the benefits


Steve

 

Curt, I've always thought your avatar needed a hug.....

 

no, this guy needs a hug