Channeling your emotions

I have always liked to share...my experiences, my stories and my thoughts. I have seen a lot in my relatively short lifespan here on earth. I am neither that old nor that young, but the myriad of situations I have been through, qualify me for a semblance of preaching :-) It is not to say that other people are not going through or have not gone through shit in their lives. Everyone is fighting a battle. Nowadays, smiles count for nothing. Neither do tears. But what strikes me is the enormous power our emotions bear. They can move mountains, change the course of history or even change our lives, to begin with.

I always like to roughly divide emotions into four broad segments. Anger. Grief. Love. Joy.

Every other emotion is either a subset or a mixture of two or more of the above. It is easier to imagine the four emotions as offsprings of a powerful all-conquering warlord.

A dark brooding prince with a penchant for decimating everything in his path.A broken princess with tear stained eyes draped perpetually in white.A prince full of flair with the proverbial glass of wine in one hand and a beautiful rose in the other.A princess with the feet of an angel, gliding across a garden with a smile like sunshine.

This brings me to the main points in my discourse.

A sword...a seat of power and seething rage can be destructive or constructive, based on how it is channeled. Case in point Kublai Khan... the grandson of the feared Mongol ruler Genghis Khan was angered by his constant doubters and his cousins who challenged his claim to the throne or the “Khanate”. Embarking on an expansion project, he extended the Mongolian Empire beyond its existing boundaries. His empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Black sea, from Siberia to what is now known as Afghanistan... and covered one fifth of the world’s then inhabited land. In 1271, Kublai established the Yuan dynasty, which ruled over present-day Mongolia, China, Korea, and some adjacent areas, and assumed the role of Emperor of China. By 1279, the Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty was completed and Kublai became the first non-native emperor to conquer all of China.

History is divisive about Kublai. Some view him as a mass murderer, a heartless man whose heart was set on expanding his empire. Others view him as a pioneer, a man who embraced secularism, cared about the dreams of his subjects, one who put the good of his empire above everything else.

What is fascinating to note however, is how Kublai channeled his anger to achieve things that had never been achieved by the Mongol dynasty before. I am not asking you to become Kublai :-) I am asking you to look at the magnitude of the achievements of a man who channeled his emotion towards achieving a sole outcome.

I can use the reference of Mother Teresa, who channeled her inner grief to establish the Missionaries of Charity, an organization that went on to receive international acclaim. Like Kublai Khan, Mother Teresa was also not beyond the reaches of controversy. But, again, the scale of her accomplishments has to be noted.

Men like Shah Jahan, who quantified love and transformed it into one of the wonders of the world is another example I can lay out for you. Faced with hurdles and obstacles and often resorting to extreme measures, driven by his love for his deceased wife, Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan delivered to the world, a breath-taking and flawless tribute that would forever be a symbol of love...the world over.

Mona (Madame) Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, the lady who inspired perhaps the greatest painting of all time and influenced Leonardo Da Vinci to come up with a stunning representation... The Mona Lisa...a lady whose history is shrouded with conjecture and myth. A perpetually smiling lady born in the Renaissance period, her complicated personal life lead her to Da Vinci who painted three versions of his master-piece, one over the other. What came out of it, is there for all to see.

All of us are special. We might not rule a country or build an architectural stunner or paint a legendary work of art or create a system to house the needy and the afflicted...but what we can do is channel our emotions to overcome the current obstacle or achieve a short-term goal. It is easier said than done. But to reach down deep inside and grab hold of what is bothering you or making you bounce through life and use it to shape your immediate future, can be one the hardest things to achieve.

If you are angry, prove to those who anger you, how wrong they are...

If you are sad, prove to those who sadden you, how happy you can be...

If you are in love, prove to those who love you, that you care for them like no one else can...

If you are happy, prove to those who doubt you, that you are the master of your own joy-ride...

Few things are as raw and as pure as emotions. We are lucky to be their wombs. Now, go and nurture them.