How often do we assign meanings to our feelings?
I often find myself explaining how I felt after the emotion occurred. A correct explanation would justify the associated emotion. But I get lazy and do not always explain myself, even to myself. What happens then: Are these silent emotions "justified"?
I am curious because I've always had silent emotions all my life. Specifically, had I been living an unexplained and impoverished life?
Introspection did not come naturally to me, until I had to explain myself to others. This may be what is commonly referred to as "accountability". Becoming an adult may just be increased accountability, both to others and more important to oneself.
Critical events can change people's lives. How many of such instances start from increased introspection?
Explanations enrich our emotions. More broadly, we often assign meaning and project ourselves onto other people and things. Our first tinted opinion of the world would indicate more about us than the world. But ultimately, this projection and association enriches our lives even if we get it wrong.
Which makes me think: How often do we assign meanings correctly to our emotions? How does the interaction between thoughts and emotions complicate our ability to understand how we feel? Since our thoughts can influence our emotions, thinking/explaining can easily steer us away from the first reasons behind these emotions.
This is perhaps how we indulge in our little delusions, wrapping them with false assignments to our emotionally charged lives.
Perhaps this is how we distinguish ourselves from animals. Humans and animals both have emotional capacity, but only humans actively clothe it with meaning.
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