Meditation for December 28th
Feelings Make You Dumb
We have brains that help us decide, control all of our bodily functions, and react. Our brains protect us from harm. We can solve challenging problems and make diplomatic decisions. Our brains are complex computing machines. Our ability to ration helps us navigate the realities we face.
We can do so much with our brains until we get a strong feeling, then we become dumb. When we are faced with fear or hurt, we lose all ability for rational thought. Problem-solving becomes nonexistent, so we act in mysterious ways because we allow our feelings to guide our actions.
We are hurt, so we quit our jobs before even understanding the full consequences of that decision. We break up with our partner because we can’t convince them that we are right. We buy a bunch of shit because we feel so sad.
No matter how smart we are, we will turn into irrational idiots the minute we feel something. Emotions can be the great mind equalizer. I can’t help wondering whether there is a political version of “feelings,” and that is why we watch countries, including our own, react like teenagers instead of countries populated by intelligent people.
Emotions are a product of the limbic system. These were developed later in human evolutionary development. And neuroscience has shown that the limbic system and the rest of the brain never agree on anything, so the emotional response has to shut down the lizard brain and the rational parts of the brain. Literally making you dumb.
When you feel pain from heartbreak and grief, you become an idiot. When you get mad at other drivers, you turn into a fucking dummy. Some people spiral out of control with road rage. Road rage is just being emotional. When you think you’re about to get fired, you turn stupid. You might think you are entitled to your feelings, and that you get to feel the emotion, and that you need to express yourself, but while you’re feeling, you are a big old dummy.
As a society, we feel that feelings are on par with our opinions and our identities, but the culture we are developing is based on the very moment we are at our dumbest. We are told that our feelings are legitimate, but they aren’t. Yes, you are reacting to feeling hurt or scared, but this is the right time to ignore the first feeling/thought and focus on a better second thought and first action.
For true intellect is to strip away all actions based on fear and feelings.
When we are heartbroken, we are told to feel it, but if you want to be the most intelligent person in the world, stuff all those feelings and solve that Middle East shit! When you are struggling with grief, forget that person and write a goddamn good song. When you are scared of losing your job, quit and start that klezmer-hip hop record label.
We put so much effort into nurturing our feelings with therapy, creating safe places, religion, and other “healthy” choices that we are unintentionally making our society dumber.
So next time you want to cry, swallow that lump and try to be smart for once.
Prayer
Lord,
I see that you have created us in your image,
And that means your emotions, too.
We get so mad,
We commit genocide.
We get so sad,
We kill our own son.
We get so jealous,
We smite.
So you are an emotional God.
Could you make me a little less?
I’m tired.
Amen.
Craft
How to regulate your emotions. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed by our feelings that we become blind and deaf to all solutions. We then react. Reacting to life is from a more survivalist part of our brain rather than our rational part, so we are apt to make mistakes. We yell, we storm off, we say hurtful things, and we even get violent.
- Take a huge breath. Don’t do anything until you get some oxygen into your brain.
- Count to 10. While you are breathing, let time tick by. We don’t need to say something right away.
- Don’t react until you feel back in control.
- Or react, do damage, and just apologize later. Nothing matters.
Goal
We take feelings too seriously, but they are what make us so stupid. Grow up, crybaby.