Why?
"A work of art is good if it has sprung from necessity. In this nature of its origin lies the judgement of it: There is no other." -Rainer Maria Rilke
When I was young, society had problems. But those problems were of the "we need to work on that" variety. Now, everything feels more like "what's the point?" And I don't think that's just me. I'm a much more positive person now than I was then. I think it's a recognition, part of our collective consciousness, that life has gotten out of hand. There are many contributing factors and possible culprits: the growing population, the proliferation of technology, and new societal norms, just to name a few. But in my mind, those things, while true, are really just symptoms of a larger problem. And that problem is a lack of emotional health. More specifically, a lack of understanding about the mechanics of emotion.
Because the experience of emotion has such an intimate, personal feel to it, people commonly feel like experts on their own emotion. But most of us are only experts on how it feels, not on how it works. If you fly down the road in a sports car, it may make you feel great, but that doesn't mean you understand how the engine works. And just like with emotion, as long as everything works all right, you'll probably be fine. But eventually that engine is going to break down, and then you're going to need to know what to do. But we don't know what to do. And I believe that is a fatal flaw in our worldview that is causing the breakdown of our society.
I've spent many years watching mainstream society misdiagnose what is going on. It is well past time for there to be a voice that "gets it" about emotions. I'm ready to try to be that voice.
Here here. Let's become more in tuned with our emotions!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Unknown. It's so nice to have a comment. :)
DeleteYes, yes! Good stuff!
ReplyDeleteI do believe many of us are scared of our emotions. I was just reading something about how people feel the need to "maintain an illusion of happiness, perfection and mural purity," and I also recently got in a discussion on Facebook about how what's posted there oftentimes invokes envy, sadness, etc. in people. So, emotions are a big deal, but we sweep them under the rug, or we feel weak for having them, but they're always there, bubbling up...
Thanks RVHS. I don't know about "mural purity", but I think many people wear the mask. It's time to stop hiding and start feeling our emotions.
DeleteWell said. The mechanics of emotions is something that needs to be taught explicitly. It is not something that we can learn by osmosis. Mostly because the vast majority of people are not emotionally healthy.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think if most people were healthy, then it would be okay to just let it happen (or not) naturally. But our society is going in the opposite direction, so I think we need to start teaching it explicitly, like you said.
DeleteThanks for your comment.
As an architect who NEEDS to 'create' on a regular basis, I can appreciate the sentiment of [A work of art is good if it has sprung from necessity]. I'm reminded of several 'design' quotes/sayings which have been life-long touchstones for me; "Necessity is the mother of invention" (unknown, 16th century), 'Form follows function" (Louis Sullivan, 1896), and "God is in the details" (Mies van der Rohe, 1965). When the creation of 'things', or the expression of 'emotions', springs from honest, sincere, introspection, the results tend to be unadulterated and pure.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully stated. Thank you. "Form follows function" is one that has impacted my thinking throughout my adult life, but they're all good. Following the "honest" and "pure" path, a great man once said, "If hubris is totally absent, self-love is not really a sin, but a completely healthy state of mind." -R.M.
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