Sensitivity, Sentimentality and Should

Do we do things out of sensitivity, sentimentality or the force of "should"?

Was recently considering this when the 2 words sensitivity and sentimentality came up in a sentence that a friend said to me. She was considering what would be sensitive to be on V day and was asking whether she was oversensitive however she says she is definitely not sentimental- point in note, she would have liked to get me flowers but she doesn't really like them herself.. 

Thinking of that, brought me to thinking of male-female gender roles. We always think that women are more sentimental than men but recently I have discovered that actually some men are much more sentimental than women.. holding onto old experiences that they enjoyed for a much longer time than women. Perhaps, it's the practicality in women which says.. I can always find similar feelings and quite easily. 

Women however are definitely more sensitive than men in general. They have a tendency to be sensitive to others.. which is great however they also are very sensitive to how people approach them.. Recently I was told by a male friend that I tend to read too much into details.. There in lies the problem. women are tend to be too sensitive to others but for a man as they are not sensitive to how their actions would affect others, there comes a disconnect.. much like the porcupine that is triggered to open it's quills whenever it is touched .. much too sensitive.

So how does the "should" get into the picture? Well, these are the reactions we normally have if we let out emotions affect the way we react or do things. However many times, we have been trained and become rationale enough to know that there is a correct way of doing things or a right way of doing things. And so we do the correct thing.. ignoring our God given emotions. That in itself becomes a real burden. 

As in so many things, the right way of reacting lies somewhere in between. A balance of sensitivity to others, less sensitivity to ourselves; sentimentality over things that count and less sentimentality over things that don't count or can't be changed  (meaning to move on) and yet not becoming totally functional and to do the right thing cos we know we have to but rather cos we know we want to.. Tough yah. so we need Godly wisdom and to ask God who is our helper to help us navigate the complexities of human relationships.