Why Emotions, Why?

Photo by Emile Séguin on Unsplash

Why do emotional attachments have such a profound effect on the human psyche? Where does it draw its strength and power from such that when one is gripped by the emotions that have been amplified by bonds, ties, or attachments to experiences or people, one could be left paralyzed by it, unable to move on from that specific moment, as if the weight of that moment accumulated and had suddenly been difficult to carry?

I don't know why we feel helpless in times of grief, pain, sorrow while it would be the complete opposite when we experience happiness, joy, laughter. Love and loss, that's one thing my mind goes back to. Love, or the emotions associated with mutual recognition, solidarity, friendship can definitely bring such elation but when that is taken away, loss takes over, a time of mourning.

The mind should be able to rein in the heart. Logic should be able to trump out sentiment. Reason should overwhelm nostalgia. But that doesn't seem to be the case rather the mind and the heart work together, hand in hand. They are the mechanism behind emotional attachments. The emotions we feel from the attachments we have shared or created with experiences and other people, these are driven by memory stored in the mind. In the moments the emotions were felt, they may have been fleeting but these moments are imprinted in the back of our minds so that when we think about them, we remember and are able to draw the emotions that we felt during those moments. This possibly explains my fear of losing my memory because of the connection that it has with emotions. When one's memory is lost, the emotions that go with the memories are severed and one would not feel the same, he would be in a state of flux, of confusion, he would experience both existential and identity crises.

Emotions may be fleeting, we should not completely depend on them when making decisions, that is true and I agree with that. There are times when we must think and in all cases, we must always exercise faith. But in matters that pertain to the individual and his being, not on the consequences that would arise from a certain action that he should do, but just on the moment of being, emotions do count, they are important because they make up a part of who he is along with his mind and his will. There is no denying that when you take away one's emotions, that person would not be a person. He or she would cease to have fullness of being. Take away one's emotions, and there will never be any attachments to be made, there will be no ties or bonds, he or she will be like a machine, doing only what reason dictates, what the best possible outcome would be, and following the actions that would lead to that. That's not how one should live because you're not living fully, maybe not at all.

There is a reason for grief and pain, for joy and laughter, for anger and indignation. They can be just as overwhelming as the knowledge and wisdom of the world. It would be difficult to understand how emotional attachments could have such a great impact on us but they do, and we should try to make the most of it. Both the mind and the heart have their respective parts and it's when they align that things would be worthwhile despite the intensity of the situation, whether it be one that brings mirth or one that brings tears.