Love, and some more crap.

Something that I find myself thinking about a lot lately are the basic foundations for our wide array of emotions. If we evolved from a single celled organism, it would make sense that our mental capabilities evolved in a similar fashion. If our ancestors operated on a few key primal instincts is it ok, then to assume our emotions grew out of those same instincts. To use a visual (and a very dated metaphor), our emotions are like the spectrum of color. But at it's very core, there are only a few basic colors that then are used to create the others, allowing our emotions to be as complex as the paint store at Home Depot.

The next question, really, then becomes which of the emotions are the bases of the rest. I've distilled them, so far, down to 3 basic emotions. But that being said, I would argue that those can be broken down even more. I call these emotions my Three Primes. Fear, Joy, and Anger make up these primes. And from these, all other emotions are created. And then, like a Mad Scientist on a mission, the different amounts and combinations create the bajillion other emotions: Hatred, Love, Calm, Resentment.

Two of the emotions I think about most are Love and Hatred. Two emotions that our society like to pin against each other; two opposites. But it is these people who hinder our very understanding of what those emotions actually mean. While yes, they are related, they are not complete polar opposites--they're simply sisters, slightly different, yet fundamentally similar.

Love at it's core is born of Fear and Joy. How much you "love" someone depends greatly on how these two interact. Love, is the fear of losing Joy. It is the need to keep that Joy and the understanding that it isn't permanent. For an example, I love my sister. She brings me Joy. The Fear I have of losing her is always present, whether I understand it or not. It is always in the background, however, I don't feel it because it isn't necessary. It is only through a traumatic experience that the Fear rears it's ugly head. 

Let's say someone I love gets in an accident. Instinctively, I think about their safety. I am overwhelmed by a fear that they are in pain. Basically, I am afraid that I will never feel that Joy that she brings me, again.

Moving on, I want to address the irrationality of Love. Love, at it's core is an irrational emotion. It is the constant preoccupation with losing something. Whoever (whenever), decided to use the phrase, "think with your heart, not with your head" hit the nail on the head. Because your "head" will tell you that you're being irrational. It is this disregard of rationality that allows us to Love.

AAAAAAAAND, It's late and I'm tired. This rant to be continued tomorrow.

Good. Night. World.

-t