I Feel, Therefore I AM

I was riding the bus back to school when this idea popped into my head. I don't exactly know where it came from, but I do know that I was experiencing a realm of emotions at the time; and I was loving it. I realize that all too often we believe that what makes us different, what makes humans unique, is our capacity for knowledge. I would ague that isn't all that unique. I mean, if you think about it, if everyone used logic perfectly and never let emotions invade their thinking, everyone would always come up with just about the same answer as everyone else. The only variance would be in what information went into making the logic flow. Rationality is just a process, and if used properly, it has nothing unique, nothing that can differentiate between people; and that is why it is so often considered to be so great. It is designed to allow multiple people to come up with the same answer. Computers can do that.

But emotions are unique. They are different to everyone. Not only does the same situation evoke different emotions in different people, but even the same emotion can evoke different responses within different individuals. And I LOVE that. It is the presence of emotions, passions, and spirits that drive people and make the world what it is we see today. 

If there were nothing to be had but logic, then life would be nothing but a string of events that inherently dictate the succeeding step in every case. To every input there is an output. It would make machines of us, because we would have no drives but those of logic. And even in a world where science conquers over disbelief, I would hate to live there. I would hate to follow the strategically structured routine and have no drive but that of rational advancement, but I wouldn’t know any better. There would be no art, because there have to be more efficient ways of making people happy or of expressing oneself, and there never would be any emotions to express through the nonexistent medium. Even happiness could be thrown out the window if it wasn't necessary to promote a fluid work-flow.

That is a terrifying thought. I would rather be unhappy at times than never to be able to feel energetic, to feel passionate. I want to be hurt so I can feel alive, because what is life if it isn't being alive? And what can constitute a desire if there is no basis for comparison that makes one alternative better than another? Sadness makes joy all that more powerful. And loneliness makes company all the more enjoyable. I don't advocate that one should seek less-than-desirable emotions, but rather when they inevitably come around, that we embrace them with the knowledge that they make joy possible. They show us that we are alive, and aren't just stimulated brains in jars. 

I want to let my passions grab a hold of me. And while I won't let them stray me in wrong direction, I will embrace the feeling of spirit and of vivacity while I have it to enjoy. This doesn’t get thought of enough in the right context: you only life once.