Emotions

They say that we live in cycles. I’ve come to believe that that is true. The technology may change. The continents, the empires, the democracies, customs, and even the physical attributes of the people may change. And yet one thing about the people doesn’t change. We may grow wiser. We may have more to learn. And we will definitely have different rules from one era to another, which we need to follow. So, what does not change? Emotions.

The biggest thing we can learn from history is the warnings about emotion. Rage, jealousy, lust, empathy, love, fear, the list goes on and on. Sane people who were learned in their history and knowing the facts of their days were often led astray, not by overpowering forces, instead, by the chemical structure within their own bodies as they yielded to emotions.

In our most prestigious schools, we study 5000 years of human history, and yet we see the same cycles of greed and lust today that were evident 3000 years before the common era. They say those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. We need to remember more than just history. We need to remember the causes. Look past the excuses to what rages within humans. It is the emotions that drive them.

We face terrible violence today. Shootings, bombs, and other mayhem are our nightly ritual of reporting on our television sets. Is this so different than the nightly street stabbings in Rome 2000 years ago? Think of all the villages burned, lands conquered and reconquered, people indiscriminately killed or sold into slavery over the thousands of years. These are not things done by people. These things are done by people with uncontrolled emotions.

We remember history. We know the warnings signs. Most of us even understand how terrible, uncontrolled and unresolved emotion can be. It’s not the weaponry used, for even when the weaponry did not exist, the outcomes were still very much the same.

The past is now gone. Our future stands before us. The question laid at our feet is, how do we deal with our destiny? Do we woe over the weaponry, do we argue over the Empires, or do we go to work on the real problem?

How to we reign in the emotions?

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Author: Mike Balof

A retired Air Force Master Sergeant, Mike used to lay in bed at night and worry about what would happen if his plant closed or found himself without a job. One day his plant closed. Rather than panic and hysteria (OK, maybe a little) Mike found himself carried away on the adventure of his life. Mike started with the best job he ever had working at Home Depot. He spent 8 years working with job seekers at a local workforce center, helping them to find employment. He then started his own company developing courses, writing books and urging others to follow their own paths into the future. Mike holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training and a Bachelor of Business Management, earned through the University of Phoenix and an AAS degree in Electronics Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. Mike is a member of the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society. View all posts by Mike Balof