Friday, November 30, 2012

Feelings

Well, when I started this blog, I was very excited. And, thought I'd be writing often. It's been months since the last one, so anyone who is trying to follow me, I hope I don't disappoint you in the long run. Sometimes, because I travel a lot, and am doing several things at the same time, I have come to realize that I can't do everything. So, for instance, the blog has been neglected. Even though I have a lot of desire to develop it. And, keep it up.

The elections are over in the United States. No real issues were discussed. No one seems to be really trying to identify and address the real problems we have to confront. But then, anyone who believes that politicians are there to solve our problems, shouldn't be allowed to vote. Once in a long while there is a real caring politician. One who truly has a vision, and has not succumbed to the pressure of making deals, which leads to corruption and loss of faith. I can't tell you whether it's possible to compromise and still truly get something done. Everyone says that you have to do this. But, I've always found that when a deal has to be made, if it's a compromise, one person has submitted to the other. When it works, I call it not compromise, but synthesizing two different ideas or desires in a way that a new reality is created that everyone believes is what they want. However, to do that, one needs clarity, truth, and mutual respect. That seems to exist nowadays in very small doses.

And, when I wonder why, I come to the subject of today's blog. Feelings. I went to the theater last night, to see a play from South Africa, a version of Miss Julie. It has gotten wonderful reviews. But, to me, it had no real feeling. And, in a play as dramatic and passionate as Miss Julie, that seems essential. I'm sure there are a lot of people who've seen it that loved it. And, disagree. They'd say there was a lot of passion. Well, there was a lot of tension, a lot of screaming, a lot of arbitrary violence, none of which was real. How could there be. They were actors, acting. There was no real relationship between them. They represented what they believe their characters feel. But, they didn't really feel it.

It's the same when watching politicians. There is no real feeling in what they say. Most of the time, we know that whatever they say, they are not going to do. Like how most people talk. They use language to hide what they feel. The opposite of what, for instance, an artist does when they express how they feel in their work. Or, the caring that a real doctor has when treating a patient. It comes from their feelings.

And yet, we are brought to believe that feelings are not to be trusted. That seems so strange. In the animal world, the most sensitive animals survive the best. Why not with human beings? Sure, we have all made mistakes. But, was it our feelings that betrayed us? Or we who betrayed our feelings? Or, ignored them for so long, that anything we feel confuses us? It's true that when most people have deep feelings that they need to express, they are incapable of doing it. How can we get anything done if that is how we behave?

As Einstein said, "The question that drives me hazy: am I or the others crazy?"

I wished I lived in a world where feeling was revered and respected, not blamed for our mistakes.