Emotions

What would a few of our basic emotions look like if we could see them?

The world is riddled with Emotions of all shapes and sizes. Some crawl, some walk, some seep and ooze, some curl their tendrils around you, some envelop you in an embrace. They are all there, waiting to make you feel their presence. Some Emotions are more persistent than others, some gentler than others. You do not often see them, but just because things are not visible to us, it does not mean they do not exist in large and intense quantities.

Where, perhaps, do you think you would find the greatest variety of Emotions roaming about? A hospital, perhaps, or an airport? A school or a grocery store or a sports field?

Let us take a gander at the hospital. As you walk the halls of a multi-service medical facility I want you to really look. Pay close attention to the Emotions you may encounter, and if you can, try to understand their workings so that you need not battle them when they come for you.

Let's start at the front doors. Do you smell something dark and foreboding lurking in the shadows of the hospital entrance already? Fear has implemented itself in an inky thick sludge all over the walls and the ceilings and floors of the entire building, ready to engulf visitors. Fear is frigid and unforgiving; it draws the heat from its victims and leaves its sticky moistness all over them in exchange. Here, it usually likes to simmer in a bubbling puddle near rooms where patients are being diagnosed, pouncing on them like the predator it is once they're at their most vulnerable. If you head to the emergency room and the surgical operation rooms you will be overwhelmed by the stale reek of Fear, and if you aren't careful it will latch onto you too. Fear loves a bleak future, the ignorance of the unknown, and it is quite persistent about leaving you with gifts to remember it by, for it does not appreciate being forgotten. Fear has no favorites; it creeps upon all without discrimination, anywhere and anytime, and it is sometimes seen with its sibling Surprise, who exists only as a quick-disappearing snap, a brief rip in a peaceful pocket of air. Fear relishes in the knowledge that it almost always gets the best of us.

What's that crackling noise, you ask? Is it like an electric current, a live wire whipping around in the air, catching and zapping others in its wake? My friend, that's Anger. If you step to the hall on your left, you will see the source of that sound. There it is, prodding and goading its victims. See how it prowls around with its stout little legs, waving in its grubby fists a furiously crimson web of flames around those arguing individuals in the hallway. Anger cackles gleefully as it plants harsh words and invokes bitter memories in the minds of these people, having cast its net around them to capture them in its heat. Notice the flush of blood rising to the man's face as he brandishes his finger at a stone-faced doctor, and take a closer look, if you will, at the doctor's clenched fists which she unfurls briefly to adjust her stethoscope around her neck. Though she seems to be able to tame Anger better than some, it looks like Anger will have them both in its trappings for a while. Don't worry; though they leave a mark, Anger's bindings will melt away over time, and it will grow bored and move on to needle somebody else. Oh, but look at that scoundrel now! See that grin on its countenance as it turns to wink at its old pals Fear and Sorrow, who await with eager eyes near the couple's feet, gurgling with anticipation as they cheer on their colleague.

Ah, it took a few minutes, but I see you have sensed the burdening weight of Sorrow. Like its friend Fear, Sorrow lingers everywhere in this hospital, expanding its capacity and reaching out to stroke people with its curling tendrils. It's hard to feel sometimes. Sorrow has been known to suddenly come crashing into the room to rest its body on a victim. But Sorrow can sometimes be meeker than the other Emotions, letting them have their way with you before it makes its presence known, slowly and agonizingly crawling up into your heart and seeping its way around your body until you realize it has settled deep in your bones. We all sooner or later feel oppressed by Sorrow, who means well but sometimes just doesn't know when it has overstayed its welcome. Sorrow adores dark, somber, cool colors, and is forever painting every surface it sees in your consciousness with its favorite hue, blue. If you're not careful, or perhaps if your brain just doesn't know how to prevent it, Sorrow will permanently move in and make itself at home. It treats you like a friend at first, wrapping its shapeless body around yours and whispering menacingly comforting things into your ears. After a while you may realize it's eaten you out of house and home and the false sweetness of its hold is hard to shake, especially when its cousin Desperation stops by for lunch. Still, Sorrow isn't impossible to evict; it takes a lot, but you can get it to leave, if only for long vacations.

You're smiling. Dare I ask if it is because the radiant warmth of Happiness is dancing around us, unable to help itself? Or is it because we are in the maternity ward, where parents are meeting their children for the first time? The brightness of Happiness's laughter is very hard to resist, after all. Watch as it prances about, touching everybody it can get its arms around, chortling with glee as it works its irresistible charm. Happiness is a people-pleaser; it is always ready to barge in and perform its duty even when other Emotions try their best to lock it out (the other Emotions don't really like Happiness; they think it's too much of a suck-up). Unfortunately, just as helpful and pleasant it is to have Happiness around, it does tend to be a little flighty, especially if it has to nudge the other Emotions out of the way to get to you. As they say, Happiness is fleeting, and sometimes just as soon as it comes for a visit, it may very well pack up and leave just as quickly. If its best friend Love is around, it will most certainly stay for longer. The two are like peas in a pod, encouraging and supporting each other. But if Happiness has left you, that fickle fiend, don't worry; it'll come back.

And now we're back at the doors of the hospital leading to the rest of the world. I hope you've learned something about a few of the Emotions that like to roam around our world. When they come calling, will you let them in? Will you let them stay for an extended visit, or will you shoo them from your home after some days have passed? Perhaps now it will be easier to let them in, now that they are not so much strangers as they are acquaintances, or - dare I say - friends.