Emotional Beings

One thing that I (more than often) think about is how we evolved as a people. Ok, typically, I think of it more from a biological standpoint, simply because it interests me. But what about emotionally? If you read any personal statements from Adam Carolla or Clint Eastwood, you'll find that many people in our parents' and grandparents' generations hold their popular beliefs that we are all becoming a world of wusses.

I don't disagree. Actually, I always thought "sucking it up" was exactly what we needed to do more of, and talking about our feelings was a nice outlet- but let's not get too detailed with them. If I heard people talking about how everything made them feel, I had a hard time finding merit in their situations. I always felt like they could (and should) just get over it. 

I also had these really weird questions in my head when I was working in restaurants: How did we go from hunters to people who eat with these utensils and care about having a complementing set of sides with their protein, and maybe even a cocktail infused with similar, complementing flavors for the ultimate experience? Why did we turn into the kind of people who have to have a specific sauce on the side, or better yet, the kind of people who ask for the music to be changed because heaven forbid, they have to eat their lunch with this song on the radio? I just pictured a bunch of cavemen who shaved, put on deodorant, and suddenly became very picky, wanting the very best dining experience (one of three) in their typical day. Why can't we all just snack on fruits, veggies, sandwiches... you know... typical stuff? With our hands? Not worrying about braising, sautéing, roasting, blanching, poaching, seasoning, reductions, and the million other things to consider when composing a dish? 

Ok- I worked in restaurants and I have a sincere appreciation for culinary arts. I love a composed meal with a glass of wine. But I just had random thoughts that had me asking how and why we got to this type of a society that placed such a value on the dining experience, instead of the fact that we are essentially eating to live, and anything else is kinda superfluous. 

I asked the professionals at my school what they thought of my questions and (lack of) understanding. It opened my eyes... a little. Back when our ancestors were in the more... primitive stages of society and life on earth, they still had emotional needs. In those particular times, those needs weren't necessarily able to be met, but they were there. As societies were formed, you can see from the wars in our history, that we are from an emotional group of beings. But fast-forwarding to today, where technology has provided us with more than we honestly need to get through this life, we now have the luxury of tending to our emotions more than we ever have. We have time to sit and mindlessly eat. We have time to fret about the relationships in our lives. We have time to vent about our jobs. We have a society that has afforded itself the ability to relax in front of a TV and allow the media to influence our emotions because what else do we have to do before we go to bed? How else are we going to unwind? Sure, let's watch the news and hear nothing but negative. Let's watch the Kardashians and get a skewed view of what constitutes a successful, fulfilling, morally conscious life. We've grown from a people who didn't have the ability to tend to the emotional needs, to a people who over-tend to our emotions, and are ultimately run by them. So the idea behind therapy these days (from the perspectives of the professionals I asked), is to bring individuals to a balance. That balance will allow them to realize the control they have over their emotions. When there is an understanding of that control, that person will get much more fulfillment out of life and hopefully find the balance he can hold onto for the rest of his life.

I will ask more questions like this in the future. I really like this perspective.