Reply
Wed 20 Sep, 2017 03:59 am
Positive emotions make our lives matter to us in good ways, negative emotions make our lives matter to us in bad ways, while having no emotions at all would render our lives not mattering to us at all. When something matters to you in a good or bad way, these are actually emotional states rather than outlooks or mindsets (i.e. thought states). This is because our emotions are forms of motivation which make things matter to us. Without emotions, then you could have thoughts and beliefs of things mattering to you and you could do things such as helping others, but nothing would actually matter to you.
Good and bad value take on the form of experience (our emotions) which would make our emotions literal forces of good and bad. Our positive emotions are like a sacred life force of goodness that can only make things matter to us in good ways. They are literally beautiful states of mind. Our negative emotions are like a horrible and dark life force of badness that can only make things matter to us in bad ways. They are literally horrible states of mind.
This is world changing because there were many miserable and depressed genius artists in the past who thought that their misery and depression made their lives and artistic endeavors matter to them in good and beautiful ways. To this day, many artists still believe this and there are many other people who believe this lie as well. By revealing this truth, it would change the world and it would reveal to us that the only way to live and be an artist is through our positive emotions.
Now, it is an established fact that our emotions are everything to our lives. Without emotions, then nothing could matter to us. We would lose our empathy and humanity without emotions. We can't have empathy without emotions which proves the point that it is only our emotions that make our lives matter to us. Empathy is where things such as helping others matters to you.
Since you can't have empathy without emotions, then nothing can matter to you without emotions. Empathy would, therefore, have to be emotional states of compassion and love towards others. Compassion can either be a positive emotion of joy in helping others or it could be a negative emotion such as a feeling of sadness and misery from the idea of someone suffering. Sociopaths have no empathy, but they still have emotions to make other things in life matter to them in good or bad ways.
Lastly, the fact that these miserable genius artists claimed their lives and artistic endeavors mattered to them in beautiful ways could mean that these artists had some degree of positive emotion mixed in with their misery even though they thought their art mattering to them in beautiful ways had nothing to do with their positive emotions. This would have to mean that these artists were not in a position like me. I was in the most miserable state of my life where all of my positive emotions were completely turned off. The 2nd possibility would be that these artists were in a position like me and were only deluding themselves.
Mixed Emotions: Now, if you were in a situation where you had mixed emotions, then you would be experiencing both good and bad value at the same time. It would be something like 20% good and 80% bad in regards to certain things and situations. It all depends on the degree of positive and negative emotions that are there.
How To Live The Greatest Life: The profoundness and intensity level of your emotional states dictates the level of experienced value in your life. If you were feeling very joyful and excited, then you would be experiencing much good value in your life and, thus, your life would matter to you a lot in a good way. If it was only a small degree of positive emotions that you felt, then you would only be experiencing a slim amount of good value in your life and, thus, your life would only matter to you to a small degree in a good way. This makes all the difference in the world because a life filled with the most intense and profound positive emotions is the greatest life to live while a life with a slim degree is only a somewhat good quality life. This same rule applies to negative emotions. Therefore, if you were someone poor who struggled with depression and you had a very slim amount of positive emotions in your life, then your life would not be that good.
You would be experiencing very little good value and worth in your life and towards the helping of others regardless of how much you have made the best of your life and helped others. So, basically, I am telling you that if you are a depressed or miserable human being or artist, then your life can only amount to ****. As for a rich and wealthy individual who feels the most joy and excitement and doesn't care or help anyone else, he would, of course, need his emotional viewpoint (value judgment) to keep him from doing reckless things. Other than that, everything should be all well and good with this person's life. I am not advocating the idea that the only way to a good life is to become a rich and uncaring bastard. I am only pointing out here that the only way to a good life is through our positive emotions.
Many artists and poets have created from pain: Jackson Pollock, Sylvia Plauth, Salvadore Dali & Emily Dickinson to name a few.
@MozartLink,
As Dorothy Parker put it
I burn my candle at both ends.
It will not last the night.
But, ah, my foes
And, oh, my friends,
It gives a lovely light.
@MontereyJack,
Quote:I burn my candle at both ends.
It will not last the night.
But, ah, my foes
And, oh, my friends,
It gives a lovely light.
As a poem it sounds insightful, but as a practical way to lite a candle, not only won't last the night but perhaps neither one minute. Candles to be burn at both sides require of being in horizontal position in order to make the flame direct itself up and avoid the wax to cover the fuse.
I think that a positive emotion indeed helps to create many things, as well as pain when taking it in a positive out coming, like a woman having a baby.
But I also think that positive emotions are not the only way to be an artist, however it works very well when one tries to live better.
Another point is how to live better with positive emotions.
For example, as a human being you are crap. Then, a suggested first step is to recognize and accept that you are crap. In order to live a better life, you don't need to change your status but only to accept what you are and let the rest to deal with it. At the end you will be a happy crap while others might live hell when are around you.
It sounds contradictory, but this is the way it is...