The Purpose of Feelings
I’ve been thinking about the purpose of feelings.
Actually, having feelings is a gift, an asset, a blessing. It’s our inner GPS…our personal game of “hot” and “cold.” It delights us and warns us. It’s almost like our Guardian Angel, and it never sleeps. It’s your nocturnal BFF.
It’s what separates us from our furniture. Although I’ll admit, a few times I’ve moved my table and I can almost hear it saying, “I liked my old location better.”
Animals have feelings. If you’ve ever been adopted by an animal, you know what I mean.
We, as humans, tend to categorize feelings as either good or bad. Actually, it’s what you do with those feelings that makes them good or bad.
Ew…Anger
For example, anger is often considered “bad”. But what if you lost your ability to feel anger? You’d turn into a doormat. People could walk all over you.
Even Jesus got angry. Remember the incident in the temple with the tax guys? And Jesus wept. I think that’s the shortest verse in the Bible, but it illustrates his humanity on top of his divinity.
Feelings are our divine legacy. I was recently reminded how much words affect our feelings. Now, I’m not blaming my mother. She sang a lot of beautiful songs to me as a baby. But I had a light bulb moment about one of those songs. It’s called “Rock-a-bye-baby”. I emphasize the word “bye”, and here’s why.
Brace Yourself
Have you ever really listened to the lyrics? They were supposedly written by Effie Crockett, a relative of Davy Crockett, who wrote the lyrics in 1872 while babysitting a restless child.
Ok…here goes.
Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetops,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.
Did you catch the last line? “And down will come baby, cradle and all?” I can’t tell you how many times she sang me this lullaby? This isn’t just a lullaby… It’s a doomsday scenario!
I’m not scapegoating the song. My life has turned out pretty well. No damage done.
More Creepy Stuff
I know robots are being used more and more for surgery, and programmers are now trying to develop robots with feelings.
Maybe you’re thinking, “How cool!”
” I’m thinking, “ Creepy.”
I can just imagine you and your robot in therapy for your roommate issues.
It could even have global implications, like another Star Wars, and I doubt we’ll be the stars.
Bottom line, I’m thankful for my feelings…all my feelings. They make me a lot of things, but mainly they make me human.
Minute Meditations for the Soul 