[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJgUz_RwRcw?rel=0]
Life is a fiery cauldron of emotions. The lava of our souls is kept boiling by the furnace of the worldly fire of events. Isn’t it true that our emotional state is always at a 100% intensity? Emotions, however varied they may be, make up 100% of the way we feel. So, anger 10%, frustration 20%, joyful, 30%, love 20%, depression 20%, well, you get the idea…we have all of these different emotions, and together they add up to 100% of our being. We are consumed with emotions. Sometimes, one emotion will take over the other emotions and turn into the only emotion you are feeling. Anger easily gets to 100% sometimes, doesn’t it? We know that the heat of our emotions fuels our life. It will never be any different.
Manage Your Emotions
I have always wanted to be without emotions, because I don’t like the roller coaster that I go through quite naturally every single day. It wears me out. It is exhausting. Plus emotions have a detrimental effect on your ability to perform and function at a consistent level. John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach gives as one of his lessons of leadership is that emotion is your enemy. As actors, we are asked to portray characters, artificially, meaning, we have to act as if we felt what the character was feeling, but not to actually feel that way. Acting is unreal, but it is honest.
The ability to tame your emotions is important in time of need. Recently I was asked to ”say something” at my niece’s wedding rehearsal dinner. Well, I couldn’t do it, because I became emotional and that surprised me. Why I did so, I don’t know, but it forced me to ask the question of how am I to speak for people, if I cannot keep my emotions from taking over.
Express Yourself With Humor
The solution I came up with was that no matter what the situation is, it is possible to use humor and laughter in order to communicate feelings, even when the feelings are sad or even tragic. This isn’t disrespectful, no, in fact, you are using humor and laughter to honor the event or occurrence with levity so that it can rise up and be held high and dealt with. Emotions that aren’t positive, will pull you down if you give even more weight into it’s interpretation. It all has to do with taking life a little less seriously, to take life a little bit lighter. I heard once ”How do angels fly? They take themselves lightly!”
In the theater you have the image of the happy face and the sad face, which represent tragedy and comedy, the two pillars of drama. Some of the most dire subjects are transformed into comedy in order to show that life is really a series of scenes in a comic play. Australians have a great way of making a terrible situation funny, I have always found, a bit cynical sometimes, but humorous.
I admire people who are laughing and always telling jokes and being up. They are contributing to the good vibes on the earth. We all should do this. Smile always, laugh often and see life as a scene in a comic play.
Go forth and laugh!