Emotion

All emotions have a positive purpose, unless they are left to themselves. Each emotion wants to build on itself, and does so if left unattended. Excitement wants to become happiness, and happiness wants to become ecstasy. Anxiety wants to build into fear, and fear into terror. Resentment wishes to become anger and anger to grow into hatred. These are the arcs of identification with each of  these emotions.

Of course emotions have no separate identity. They exist to serve us. Anger and fear are designed to protect us, and to get us moving. They are related to each other, both are designed to keep us safe. Anger provides the courage to act when we would otherwise be afraid. Fear provides a watchifullness that keeps us vigilant.

Both are ineffective as they grow stronger. Terror creates the deer in the headlights, and rage creates a blind self righteousness that loses all objectivity and always, always takes things too far. Hatred and terror create an intensity so strong that they no longer keep us safe but create the opposite; a vulnerability so profound that it creates its own destruction.  

Even happiness is not what it seems. Happiness is actually a form of excitement, like a child at a birthday party. This pursuit of happiness can easily jump the tracks and become nervous energy, attacking us as it becomes manic in the grips of the excitation we call  greed.

No emotion, including happiness, will make us happy. The emotions exist as a tapas menu; a form of food, and like food, should be fully experienced rather than gorged on. They do not have a separate identity. They exist for us, but are not us. Emotions are ever changing. The heart of who we are is unchanging. Emotions are clouds, shifting with the wind. We are not the clouds. We are not our