Drama queen that I’ve been almost my entire life, I’m familiar with the masks of comedy and tragedy. These two extremes rest on opposite sides of the emotional scale. We are made up of so much more than laughter and tears. All the emotions in between comprise how we look at things, how we live, how we relate to others. The Greeks established these as symbols for theater in ancient times.  The Tragedy mask was used to denote stories that had to do with something people were familiar with – like the fables and myths of old.  Comedy came later, and it really was a way for the characters to bring in some relief from all that tragedy and let the audience laugh at themselves as well as the tragic stories they were used to. Personally, I prefer looking at the lighter side of things and I usually go to the theatre to be entertained – not to be depressed or beaten down.

If you look at these two faces you see some very obvious extremes.  In the comedy mask everything is raised up.  The lips curl up at the corners, the cheekbones are raised, and the eyes are open wider – while the tragedy mask displays mouth and eyes turned down and every line in the face is sagging.  Maybe that’s why it sounds better to say you have laugh lines rather than sag lines.

In reality our emotions run the gauntlet of extremes.  Our emotions can be as unique as we are, and that’s what makes life interesting. It would be pretty weird if everyone was depressed at the same time; or if they all exhibited shyness or low self-esteem; or each of us was paranoid.  The world would be pretty strange if we were all the same.

Ecclesiastes 7:16-18 says, “Do not be excessively righteous and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth. with both of them.”

When we approach the end of a year, we tend to look at all the highlights and difficult situations and try to make changes for the new year to come. Sometimes we get caught up in the making of resolutions and setting goals which are impossible to keep. God doesn’t want us to go overboard with anything.  We also learn that God has filled us with an abundance of all things, including our emotions.  He has already planned our lives meticulously before our conception. He is in charge. He knows what is best for each and every one of us. It is wise to plan ahead, but always know that God has predetermined your future. He’s got this. Be assured that He will be there by your side through the entire journey – even the highlights and the lows.