Life is as complex as you want it to be
Well this has been a long time coming now. We have been involved in a few conversations in the last few days that have concerned this and this post has been lying in the draft stage for a weeks now with a few of the other posts wondering when it would see the light of day. I just feel that the time has come to publish this one.
What are emotions and how does it affect us? How many of us let emotions run a big part of our lives? Does the concept of emotion need to be given the kind of importance they seem to get? I would say emotions are important in the sense that you need to be able to understand them, both in yourselves as well as in others. After all man is a creature of emotion. I think the key is to be aware of our own emotions at all times. How many of us are able to identify anger, revenge, jealousy , happiness and other things at the very moment they threaten to take over. How many of us can step back at the very moment of anger and look at the whole process and be aware of the emotion. You will be surprised to find out that the process of stepping back and being aware of it diffuses the anger before it can begin to get a hold on you. The whole process of being aware of what makes you happy in life can be one of the most enriching experiences by itself.
I think most of us would agree that emotions can be great reservoirs of energy and happiness at best and absolutely destructive at worst. I think control over your own emotions can be the highest level of self awareness that one can achieve. The other key would be to not confuse control with obliterating because they are definitely not the same thing. I think it was Nietzsche who said " One ought to hold on to one's heart; for if one lets it go, one soon loses control of the head too." And before u believe I am condemning sentiment, passion and love, read the previous statement again and the significance might strike you. I believe in all these emotions as much as the next person. What I believe is that too much of the head over heart and heart over head can be damaging. There are safety checks that need to be in place. Its important to enjoy sentiment but realise at the same time that it might not be the best guiding factor in any decision making process.
Isnt life one big exercise in being better at what you do and what you are? Emotions tend to be the weakest links in every person. They can at the same instance be our greatest allies if only we are aware of it. That is why I cant seem to come to terms with the fact that many would just seem to be aware that it might be something that can cause havoc but are happy to reconcile with it. I find it hard to believe that people would not want to not even attempt to come to terms with their emotions and reign it in. Its akin to saying that I know the problem but u know what .. its inevitable coz its just who I am so ill just let it be. I simply cannot reconcile to that. If I am aware of a potential problem, I have to atleast attempt to understand it and then attempt to solve it. And yes I believe each one of us has it in us to be able to solve anything and everything that is thrown at us.
When you let your decision making process ruled to a great extent by emotions we run the risk of manipulation. Its amazing how a single moment of emotion can destroy hours/days/years of painstaking work. Its not to suggest that we need to get rid of emotions. Its just that we need to realize that emotions do exist and more importantly we need to be aware of them and recognise them for the double edged sword that they are.
So what does the title of this post have to do with the content. Its because I believe that life is a prism that we hold in the light. Look at it from different angles and we see different colours that it emits. At the end of the day the colours dont change the fact that its a prism. Life can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. Its each individual's choice.
I think this is the last time I am going to visit this topic on this blog for a myriad of reasons. Time to end this one here. Over and out.
What are emotions and how does it affect us? How many of us let emotions run a big part of our lives? Does the concept of emotion need to be given the kind of importance they seem to get? I would say emotions are important in the sense that you need to be able to understand them, both in yourselves as well as in others. After all man is a creature of emotion. I think the key is to be aware of our own emotions at all times. How many of us are able to identify anger, revenge, jealousy , happiness and other things at the very moment they threaten to take over. How many of us can step back at the very moment of anger and look at the whole process and be aware of the emotion. You will be surprised to find out that the process of stepping back and being aware of it diffuses the anger before it can begin to get a hold on you. The whole process of being aware of what makes you happy in life can be one of the most enriching experiences by itself.
I think most of us would agree that emotions can be great reservoirs of energy and happiness at best and absolutely destructive at worst. I think control over your own emotions can be the highest level of self awareness that one can achieve. The other key would be to not confuse control with obliterating because they are definitely not the same thing. I think it was Nietzsche who said " One ought to hold on to one's heart; for if one lets it go, one soon loses control of the head too." And before u believe I am condemning sentiment, passion and love, read the previous statement again and the significance might strike you. I believe in all these emotions as much as the next person. What I believe is that too much of the head over heart and heart over head can be damaging. There are safety checks that need to be in place. Its important to enjoy sentiment but realise at the same time that it might not be the best guiding factor in any decision making process.
Isnt life one big exercise in being better at what you do and what you are? Emotions tend to be the weakest links in every person. They can at the same instance be our greatest allies if only we are aware of it. That is why I cant seem to come to terms with the fact that many would just seem to be aware that it might be something that can cause havoc but are happy to reconcile with it. I find it hard to believe that people would not want to not even attempt to come to terms with their emotions and reign it in. Its akin to saying that I know the problem but u know what .. its inevitable coz its just who I am so ill just let it be. I simply cannot reconcile to that. If I am aware of a potential problem, I have to atleast attempt to understand it and then attempt to solve it. And yes I believe each one of us has it in us to be able to solve anything and everything that is thrown at us.
When you let your decision making process ruled to a great extent by emotions we run the risk of manipulation. Its amazing how a single moment of emotion can destroy hours/days/years of painstaking work. Its not to suggest that we need to get rid of emotions. Its just that we need to realize that emotions do exist and more importantly we need to be aware of them and recognise them for the double edged sword that they are.
So what does the title of this post have to do with the content. Its because I believe that life is a prism that we hold in the light. Look at it from different angles and we see different colours that it emits. At the end of the day the colours dont change the fact that its a prism. Life can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. Its each individual's choice.
I think this is the last time I am going to visit this topic on this blog for a myriad of reasons. Time to end this one here. Over and out.
6 Comments:
I think we have had enough of a discussion about this arul,for me to go into it in detail. I just want to say that...you have the theory down perfect - be aware of your emotions and work with them instead of against. However i think in practise you arnt quite there yet - right now I would say you are more in the obliterating stage:)
hehe nats .. i expected u to be one of the ppl to comment but not this immediately.. wow :D
As for the obliterating stage I am actually going to reserve judgement while accepting that Im not the best person to pass judgement on myself, but I have reason to believe that there might be some others who think otherwise ;)
But yes some of the discussion did make a lot of sense and as some wud say Im reviewing it ;)
abey arul... how much do u drink before u start writing these sort of posts??????
pinku
oye pinku .. tereko tho pata ho naa chahiye .. i dont .. ;)
well yea .. i already like the way u are thinking.. u neednt perhaps think so much abt life ;) .. i had the feeling while writing it too that the length of the post had gone way too much, which is why i said that this is perhaps the last time i am gonna write on this topic.
how are things going with research. ;) chal gimme a call over the weekend when u free.
Btw, sorry to everyone i put to sleep with this ;) although technically ppl who love to sleep shud like it ;)
Being aware of emotions is essential at the end of the day..i guess!! u cud av done a 2-part series on this;):p!!! Oh btw me waitin 4 the video section:D!!
pinku dude.. we had to move all the alcohol out of the kitchen, cos arul's room was closest to it!! ;-)
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