On Emotions and Being Emotional

I'm sure you would find this a mite weird. I know I would have if I read this on your blog. I would have found it very odd that you are writing a blog because someone gave you a topic and asked you to write on it. Like a tag.



I don't think there was ever a time when I wasn't an emotional person. Even now I am very emotional. The only difference is now I make a conscious effort not to let negative emotions rule me.



An emotion which uplifts, plants an irresistibly exciting vision in our eyes and propels us towards achievement and splendor- are positive emotions. The emotions which grab hold of one isolated side of our personality and strives to distort, pull-back and de-motivate us- are negative emotions.



I wish this were an interactive session and I could have recorded your responses. Because I want to ask you a question. As soon as you read the title, did you have this mental picture of someone 'being emotional'... as in 'crying their eyes out?' I know you aren't sitting in front of me... but I can bet you a dinner that you said yes... unless you want to gyp me (the poor working girl...) out of a dinner. :(



Carl Jung says:

There can be no transforming of darkness into light, of apathy into movement, without emotion.



I have no intention of talking about negative emotions. You and I are steeped enough in them and (hopefully) try to keep them at bay by using whatever little wits God chose to give us. I'd rather talk about positive emotions. The ones that make us want to move mountains, the ones that make us walk impossible paths, the ones that make us bear drudgery day in and day out, the ones that bring transformations about.



Yes I have always been an emotional person. Being emotional to me means that once an emotion catches hold of my fancy (and my fancy is not easy to catch... being very flighty) it stays caught. Tenacious…? Yes... a lot of the bull-dog about the thing. I guess this is because I instantly begin building visions and castles to house the caught fancy. I begin moving the mountains so the foundations under the castle are sound. By then I forget what is possible and what is not. My eyes see nothing but my vision- which I love more and more every minute.



At this point if you tell me that my fancy was caught by the wrong emotion... or that the idea won't work... Well...!!! You know how it is with a tigress and her cubs...? Get the picture..?? Told you I was emotional, didn't I...?



I'd like to name a few emotions and then you tell me if it is bad to be emotional:

1. Passion: I don't think anything in this world can be accomplished without this emotion. The root of this emotion is our vision for our life… it is an assertion of the quality of our spirit. It is an intensely personal and private emotion… for this is core of our being… of our existence.



2. Pride: People confuse arrogance with pride. I mean the latter not the former. Pride is the emotion that is akin to a healthy self-image... to self-respect... to a high self-esteem.



3. Determination: This is something I call 'hanging on power'. To stay with an idea once it has taken root. This is not such an automatic process as people like to make it out to be. After the initial excitement of a new activity is over, it needs to be worked upon.



4. Love and Warmth: Aah..! Love...! Makes the world go around... and back again. The glow it gives… the warmth… the peace. A couple of days back, I was reporting to my boss and one of the executives called up from a distant unit. She called only to tell me that their audit got concluded and that their ranking this month has gone up by 28% and has crossed 90 percent. When I finished talking to her, my boss was surprised at her calling me though I have actually nothing to do with her job area and I am not the one she reports to. It took me sometime to explain to him the reason for the call... the assurance the girl had in the warmth she would receive from me... the warmth she was not getting from her boss... to whom she reported after she talked to me.

Many years back a student had told me that he would submit his project only to me and would wait until I return from an out-of-town trip. When I told him he might lose marks because of late submission, he still insisted on submitting the project to me. When I asked him why, he said, 'Because you are the only one who would understand what effort I have put into it..' Even now, that sentence makes my eyes fill up. It is so small... it is so big. All the world covered in that one emotion. Tell me, is it bad to be emotional..?



5. Feeling of Freedom: Freedom. Did you see that Mel Gibson movie of the same name…? Do you remember the climax..? The madness… the fierce pride… the invincible spirit blazing out of his eyes…? The roar in his voice when he shouts Freeeeeeeedoooooooooommmm….!! God….!! Even now as I type these words I can hear that roar… and even now it gives me goose-bumps. Though the movie dealt with political freedom… yet the concept is the same. Tyranny of one… or tyranny of many… hardly matters. What matters is your response to it… your refusal to accept bondage… to bear shackles. Whether the shackles are physical or mental… real or imaginary... it doesn’t matter. The issue is of not violating or betraying your spirit.



Tell me now… is being emotional disadvantageous…? Emotions are the buttons that when pressed get us going. Only, I guess we need to learn to keep a watch over our buttons. We keep handing our remote control to all and sundry and let them punch our buttons at will.



The day we begin operating our remote control ourselves would be the day we would gain Emotional Autonomy.... FREEDOM....!!! 

Tags: freedom, emotions, life, pride, passion, love

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