Emotions are so WEIRD. Let’s break this down:
- I am a human
- with a thinking brain
- and emotions related to events that happen to me, and thoughts that I have.
…. - AND ALSO, my emotional state is wildly subject to my level of
- nutrition and rest,
- environmental factors,
- what chemicals I have or haven’t imbibed / taken as prescribed, and
- WHO BLOODY KNOWS what else??
Could it be random chemical imbalances? Sunspots? Ghosts? ESP? Gods?
I’m someone who thrives on knowing the landscape of whatever’s at hand. So this state — “causes of emotions are, well…hard to interpret” — this has always been fairly frustrating.
This also makes my semi-famed “high level of introspection” more of a survival strategy, and less of a random quality to be admired.
In writing this to my good friends, fellow author J remarked:
We are a strange sort of being, who needs control, is granted the illusion of control, AND RECOGNIZES THAT CONTROL IS AN ILLUSION.
This makes me want to laugh very loud, and cry very hard at the same time. Instead I’ll do neither.
Photo by Gunnar Bengtsson on Unsplash