I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them
“I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.”
? Oscar Wilde
I believe that emotions are stored in jars. These jars empty out from time to time, but the day’s events add to or take away from them. When the jar overflows, an emotion can overpower the rest of you. It doesn’t matter what emotion it is: anger, sadness, happiness, guilt, loss. The list goes on, and we exist as a collection of these jars. Sometimes they can mix to create new emotions, and that’s an exciting time. Sometimes, you can pour out an entire jar and start fresh. If it’s a happy emotion, that can feel like a loss. If it’s an unhappy emotion, it can feel like a reset. It’s the time between these extremes that we usually live.
Something extreme may fill your jar to the brim. And while that jar may still be inside your acceptable limit, small things can push it across the flood threshold. If your happy jar is nearly full, then a comedy show may bring you to a giddy delight. Laughing endlessly. If your sad jar is nearly full, then a sappy TV show may bring you to tears. Weeping uncontrollably. When your angry jar is sloshing at the top, that broken zipper can send you into a tailspin. Punching the air and gnashing your teeth. (Ok, maybe that last one is just me.)
The point is that we are a collection of our past experiences, and those pasts build on one another. The alchemy of our souls exists as a mixing chamber and how you react to the same situation will depend on what your jars look like today.
Help those around you to manage their jars. And remember that under the surface, we are all sometimes nearing our brims.