Emotions are intangible and people who do not feel them directly cannot understand them unless they are given a valid explanation. People cannot find emotions because they are induced by other people and by certain events. It is possible to convey emotions both positive and negative which means that they can be also explained to other people who are not involved in the process of feeling.
Emotions belong to the domain of mental activity and happen within the mind of a person. They are related to the brain activity and cannot be seen, heard, felt, tasted or smelled by other people. Each person has their own set of emotions and they are unique for that particular individual. It is possible to say that emotions cannot be conveyed or explained to other people who are not directly involved in their origin. However, that is not true because here are numerous books, films and other works of art that convey feelings that other people felt, which proves that emotions can be described to people who are not aware of their existence. Only people who are present and feel the emotion directly can understand it completely, but people can know that something is true from their own experience. For example, if a friend tells me that they are in love with another person, I will know that this emotion exists because I also felt love at certain points in my life. The key to understanding is good explanations and personal experience.
People often think that negative emotions are bad for one’s health, but that is not true. “Although positive emotions are worth cultivating, problems arise when people start believing they must be upbeat all the time“(Rodriguez). It is not difficult to explain the concept of negative emotions to people because it is enough to tell someone about depression in order to provoke empathy. Most people feel sympathetic towards people who suffer from depression because it is a mental illness that affects many people in modern society. Modern times make people numb and all the hurry makes them sick as well. There is no person who never suffered from mild depression at the very least. “Unpleasant feelings are just as crucial as the enjoyable ones in helping you make sense of life's ups and downs” (Rodriguez). Even if a person does not directly feel an emotion, they can relate to the fact that life is consisted of joy as well as of sadness and the combination of both makes it worth living. People find true meaning in life in their search for happiness which is also an emotion. The pursuit of happiness is the way to explain what emotions are to another person who cannot feel them. Everybody knows what it is like to have a great wish and to work on accomplishing it.
There is the classification of emotions which makes them easier to understand. “This leaves us with four "basic" emotions, according to this study: happy, sad, afraid/surprised, and angry/disgusted” (Beck). Even a new-born baby is aware of almost all of these emotions and that is why they are easy to relate to if properly explained. The loss of a dear person can make a person suffer a lot which is the greatest sadness and there is no person who never suffered from this. It is in human nature to have feelings although some people are self-centered and care only about their personal well-being. However, even such people have felt fear for example if they were in a situation that was life-threatening.
There is a certain power related to emotion due to the fact that the quality of people’s lives depends on their emotions. People need to feel good in order to be happy and to live a healthy lifestyle. There is much privacy related to emotions which is why people who are not directly involved need to engage their imagination in order to understand the nature of emotions. “Emotion has most often been theorized as a private, natural, and individual experience that is essentially located in the individual” (Boler 5). Therefore, since emotion is private, it is restricted to the individual who feels it. However, it is also natural which makes it understandable for other human beings who are in the position of experiencing similar things.
There is much privacy related to emotion which is why it has to be explained to other people so that they would know about its existence. “Emotions are a medium, a space in which differences and ethics are communicated, negotiated, and shaped” (Boler 21). This medium connects people and gives them a shared experience that everybody can understand. People can learn a lot by studying each other’s emotions and that is why this concept is important. There would be more understanding and tolerance in the world if people would try and put themselves in the position of other people. This is done best by trying to feel their emotions, which is the best way to maintain peace on earth.
We can feel the emotion because it is intrinsic in human nature to feel a variety of feelings both good and bad. We can also find emotion in ourselves and in other human beings. There are emotions all over the world and some things can only be felt but cannot be seen. They are the most precious and make life worth living which is why emotions are so important. Even selfish people have emotions and can find them in other people as well. Some people are good at hiding their emotions, but this can lead to many mental and physical disorders which is why it is best to show emotions when a person has them. Everybody has emotions and has to find a balance between positive and negative ones because both are related to a healthy lifestyle. People can also find emotion in the most unusual places and this is related to self-discovery. There are techniques which can be learned that encourage people to express their emotions because it is important for the general well-being.
Works Cited
Boler, Megan. Feeling Power: Emotions and Education. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print.
Rodriguez, Tori. "Negative Emotions Are Key to Well-Being." Scientific American. N.p., 1 May 2013. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/negative-emotions-key-well-being/>.
Beck, Julie. "New Research Says There Are Only Four Emotions." The Atlantic 4 Feb. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/new-research-says-there-are-only-four-emotions/283560/>.
