Feeling

Facts abound. They are literally everywhere, even the ones we don’t understand. But other facts are available to help us understand the ones we don’t. And so it goes, life moving amid billions of facts only a few of which we can deal with at any one time.

Senses abound as well. Touch is one, so are smell, pressure, temperature, vision, hearing and so much more. Feeling, not related to touch, but in the emotional sense. I feel elated at times, happy, joyous and so forth. At other times I feel lonely, bored, sad, and grief. In fact, thinking on it for just a few minutes, I’m not sure I can name all the emotional senses I feel from time to time. Same with you?

Dread is one of those feelings. Wonder and worry combined gives me the sense of dread. What will the unknown present to me to live with and solve? What legislation and ideologies will attack my peace of mind? Which religious tenet will calm my roiled feelings? Or not?

Control is another feeling. Am I sufficiently knowledgeable about something so it does not cause me concern? Do I feel in control of my life? And just what control can we possibly wield, if any? A friend and colleague recently told me I don’t control much of anything. I suspect she is right. How I spend my time is under my control. How I analyze and feel about something after the analysis is another. But pure control? No; I do not possess that power. Actually, no one does. Many think they do and manipulate resources and circumstances to gain control, but in the final analysis, they do not actually have and maintain control. Not sure how our who actually controls control!

Asking for help is a good test. Who comes to your aid? Who answers the call? This is a surprising social phenomenon. Help often comes when least expected. Sometimes it comes without asking for it. Other times it doesn’t come at all. But then, that is when we learn the deepest lessons. We can live without help. Really, we can. In fact, we’ve been doing it for a lifetime without realizing it. We call this life and experience. It teaches most things we need to know to survive.

Feeling good isn’t always the best we can do. The best probably is when we work with others to accomplish a common good. You know, the thing that feeds us all without a selfish motivation. Like freedom. Freedom from fear is a pretty good motivator. Where is that feeling now?

July 11, 2025