The Emotional Power of TikTok: How One Video Moved Me to Tears

I saw a video on TikTok that resonated deeply with me and I want to share it with you. I don’t want to hide this gift from anyone.

Oh, by the way, I’m 44 and I’m on TikTok, becuase that seems like a good use of my time.

To be fair, TikTok isn't popular with the Amercian governemnt right now, and in general it has an unjust reputation for:

• Being Chinese spyware (it almost definitely is)
• Showing frivolous viral videos of teens trying out the latest dance trends (it does)
• And for firmly not being a place for thought-provoking content

I disagree with the last assumption as a lot of what is posted on TikTok is superb.

Its algorithmic offerings twist and bend in real time to your whims, and as such, if you think TikTok sucks, maybe it’s your tastes to blame. :)

I’ve seen a lot of spiritually and mentally nourishing content on this platform — way more than anything Zuckerberg has offered up through his wishy-washy algorithms.

Facebook and Instagram seem hell-bent on crowbarring into our feeds whatever they feel like promoting. Even if you mute these accounts they continue to pop up and the whole thing becomes an endless game of whack-a-mole.

I don’t want endless whack-a-mole, I want interesting content.

For all the criticism TikTok weathers, I believe it’s the most cerebral and content-rich platform out there – if you want it to be.*

(*I’m not counting YouTube or Vocal in this equation, only short-form, social media apps that dominate the cyber landscape).

Anyway, about this amazing video...

Enough of the tease! Let’s get on with it.

This amazing TikTok video I saw is a great example of how rich this platform can be.

The video is some stock footage over the voice of a lawyer explaining how he ended up being trapped in a light aircraft, thousands of feet up, with a pilot who had passed out.

Yes, this really happened.

It brought me to tears.

The video is here, but I’d like to explain something about it before you go and watch it (I’ll post the link again at the end of this article, so don’t worry).

Why my emotional response? I’m not sure. Perhaps the video caught me blindsided, perhaps it’s because it was about faith, something I’ve been battling with recently.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve preached the power of intuition for years and this video is a perfect advertisement endorsing it.

Or perhaps it was just the rousing music and imagery and my senses were exploited by good editing.

Whatever the case, it’s these sorts of videos that TikTok was made for. It excels at blindsiding you with amazing content.

So anyway…

The lawyer explains an air traffic controller talked him through the landing procedure and brought him and his friend safely home to land. Without incident.

“Follow my voice,” said the air traffic controller. “Trust the voice,” said the other aircraft pilots, listening in on the radio.

The voice, in this case, is a metaphor for God’s voice, as the lawyer explains.

Is there a difference between God’s voice and intuition?

Maybe. I don’t know.

What I do know is there is a voice that talks to you if you’ll listen.

Not the chattering monkey-mind that serves up 1000 thoughts a minute, full of anxiety and worry, but a guiding voice, a knowing and wise voice, a rock in the weary land of life.

It talks to you through feeling, it makes you feel guilty when you do the wrong thing, it scorns you when you pretend to be someone else, it taps you on the shoulder in the day and whispers in your ear at night.

I don’t know if this is God. The lawyer does. He’s made up his mind.

I haven’t.

But I do know the voice exists. And if it’s not God, what or who is it? Why is it always right? Why does it know things immediately that can sometimes take us months or years of deep reflection to realise?

Why can we act one way but the voice inside our head will say “but this isn’t you” and expect us to act another way?

What is that voice, that feeling, that pull in the right direction?

The TikTok video hit me hard. I welled up listening to it on the first viewing and properly cried on the second viewing. So weird. Still, I “nearly cry” all the bloody time these days. I think it might have something to do with becoming a dad. I find everything emotional, everything beautiful.

And this video is beautiful. Give it a watch - I've posted the link below.

It’s only a couple of minutes and quite the story. Have a think about that voice, the intuition, the gut feel, and what it’s telling you. We all have it. Where does it come from?

Perhaps we’re not meant to know. But we sure are meant to listen.

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Here is the TikTok video. It’s a corker. And you don’t need to be on TikTok to watch it.