Emotion

Introduction

Emotion is an enigma; a fallacy, in some sense, shown throughout the entirety of nature, and shown in no species more so than the human race. The human race populates itself with fanatical emotions such as love, greed, jealousy; and often is the man who strays from the idealistic creation that is love not blessed? For an emotion with such great dominance over the minds of us all is surely not a blessing; fruits borne from the tree of love are bountiful indeed, yet as with fruit, imminent still is the promise of decay.

And greed, or jealousy; both emotions which tear at the foundations of society. Emotions which cause conflict, break bonds, rip at friendships; such emotions hold no beneficial existence, except perhaps for the inspiration excreted to those forced to suffer such an ailment of feeling; the inspiration causing them to achieve greatness. But is not that inspiration far outweighed by the production of anger and hostility; anger and hostility which cause all aforementioned results. Why should any man have to suffer at the hands of another who views himself inferior at the basis of materialistic possessions?

But it is true that not all emotions or feelings are destined to such misfortunate ends as greed or jealousy; as mentioned previously, when love rings true and suffers not from travesty then it can be a source of light in the shadow of despair. And happiness; who can deny that such an emotion, whether falsely earned or not, is not a redeeming quality? Happiness is a feeling sought after by every human being and, even if often unobtainable, when happiness is earned it empowers us; the inspiration brought about by happiness far exceeding that of the result of greed or jealousy.

Emotion is what this book intends to detail; the truth of the most basic human ideals with emotion's benefits, and equally with its misfortunes. Whilst accurate it may not be to all who read this, emotion as detailed in this book holds some personal regard to my own experiences (experiences perhaps indirectly mentioned within this book). I would hope that, within this book, you would find areas in which you are drawn to empathise; for a book wherein empathy is lost holds little in the way of emotion and conclusively, being a book about emotion, to forfeit empathy is to forfeit the idea of the book itself.

Fear

"I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today." - William Allen White

There are numerous human emotions that can result in a huge variety of conclusive effects, yet many psychologists believe that all emotion can be categorized into six primary, or main, 'types'; fear, joy, love, sadness, surprise and anger. These are the six emotions that will be detailed in this book, starting initially with fear.

Fear is perhaps the most relatable emotion; it is logical that every human, throughout their lives, has felt the constricted grip of fear upon themselves. Fear overwhelms; it grabs at the throats of many and destroys them from within, but what is 'fear'? It could be said that fear is what defines us; do you not stand everyday in fear of what is to come; of life's great mysteries and of the unknown? Fear overwhelms us; it engulfs us; it strangles us in the darkness of our lives, tearing us apart and tossing us out into the light, broken and afraid. It is huge, monstrous, and inescapable. Yet, despite the danger, there are some who seek even to embrace this colossal emotion; those who deny their fear, instead living their lives without a care for the conclusive result of their actions. But fear is necessary. In the times of ancient man, when we stood with nought but a spear made from rock to defend ourselves, we needed our fear. The fear drove us, it forced us to survive; we hid from those that would seek to destroy us; we fought back, and with the adrenaline and instinct brought about by the fear, we survived. Had it not been for the fear that some try to rid themselves of, we would no longer exist; our ancestors would have been murdered by predators of the time as they stood there, fearless in the face of hopelessness and defeat. What is 'fear'? Fear is a necessity. Fear is our saviour.

Yet, whilst it is possible to give such a heraldic title to fear, the emotion could also be seen as our downfall. Fear may drive us to success, may cause our survival instincts to activate, and may ensure our safety; yet fear can also prevent progress in life. Fear can cause such irrational tendencies wherein one finds oneself unable to venture forward in their path of existence; have you ever felt that overwhelming fear brought about when you know that you cannot prevent or change something? Fear then is nothing more than a horrific excuse to cause more damage to your own mental state. An example of which could stem from encounters perhaps with the police. The fear that reveals itself as the conclusive result of your own idiotic actions is no beneficial feeling, except for perhaps in the aftermath where you 'learned your lesson', so to speak. But to feel such fear, where you can feel your world disintegrating around you and you know that your future hangs in the balance, that you have no power to change whatever stupidity you have produced and that, if anything is going to happen, it is but a matter of time; nothing short of a miracle can save your pitiful existence and you sit, petrified and unable to move, counting every second in fear of what others will think, of what damage you have done to your own life and potentially the lives of those around you. What benefit does that hold? To be so scared that you lose your sanity; many have been driven to sorry conclusions as of the result of such a fear, a fear brought about by little more than a stubborn, irrational, chauvinistic decision.

Fear is also an emotion often exploited in the media; the creation of numerous horror films over the moving picture era has brought crowds of people swarming to embrace their fear; the tension and suspense, followed by the terror, fuels the release of adrenaline throughout each person, adrenaline embraced as sheer pleasure rather than triggering a 'flight or fight' response. Used as a social occasion; fear brought about from horror films is absorbed as enjoyment. Perhaps even to observe another of a more nervous disposition forced to succumb to the same terror as one deemed more 'fearless' can also bring pleasure and enjoyment to certain individuals (or can be used just as an excuse to 'make a move', so to speak).

Thus it seems logical to denounce some of your fear, yet also it seems illogical to completely devoid