The Mind's Playground #1

What if everything in our lives played out just as we planned it? What if we were incapable of feeling sad, angry, or afraid? Just think about that for a moment. Well first of all, I imagine that life would be incredibly monotonous. However, we would have no way of knowing or reacting to the the dullness of it because doing so would require the employment of a negative emotion; right? Secondly, we'd probably question the meaning of life even more than we do now. Try to wrap your mind around these two questions as you read on.

Many people have a favorite film that they watch time and time again without tiring of it. When viewing a movie for the second time, it is likely that you will notice things that you missed the first time around. After that, you already know the story. There is nothing new. Maybe you could even retell the entire sequence by then. Still, you watch it repeatedly. This isn't a live performance where there is a probability of variation in each show. This is recorded material that will never change. You are looking at the same exact thing every single time, but you still enjoy it. What more is there to see? Now picture living like that, except that you create the story. You would already know everything before it occurs every day because you planned it. Everything would go your way. I surely would NOT enjoy that. What's the matter with me? Do I not want to live a life of infinite perfection? Surprise! I absolutely do not. The lack of that kind of control is what makes life worth living to me, personally. You and I have experienced the effects of the unexpected; the good and the bad. We are probably more familiar with what we don't want than what we do. Some outcomes opened doors that would have remained shut, had certain events not taken place at specific times in history.

"...Negative emotions". What is a negative emotion really? If you ask anyone that question, my guess is that their answer will include some synonym of fear, anger, and/or sadness.  Almost everywhere you look, happiness is being promoted. There are numerous articles, television programs, advertisements, and books that revolve around the concept of happiness and how to attain it. Why? Because everyone wants to be permanently happy. That's the simplest answer. Due to the fact that everyone has a different idea of what happiness is, there isn't one definite source of an answer as to how to achieve it. Surprisingly, there are Internet articles which offer instruction on how to be angry, but I have to yet to find a book enthusiastically titled 101 Ways To Blow Your Top Today, an article titled 5 Easy Steps To Becoming The Saddest You'll Ever Be, or anything titled Stop Being Brave and Magnify Your Fears: A step-by-step guide to materializing your deepest terrors. It is clear that people don't like these emotions; and anything that one dislikes is probably regarded as a negative thing or idea in one's mind.

This post has no sure answers or explanations. There are a lot of seemingly unfinished thoughts. I've only set this up though. I'm just leaving these open thoughts here for you to explore. Let us revisit the two questions at the beginning of this post. By now, you probably have a more clear response in mind than you did at first. I would rather live with the balance of all emotions than to only know one. I would also rather go through valleys and climb mountains than to walk the flats forever. What would you prefer if you could choose? Feel free to leave a comment with your response to the two questions. I would love to know what you think!

This is your mind's playground.

-Indigo