Feelings' Locale

"Feelings' Locale" is not a reference to the newest Weight Watcher's strategy - it's merely the title to this post which wonders, sort of, where our feelings are located.

Where do your feelings reside?  In your head?  Perhaps in your gut, your heart, your left kneecap, or under your pillow?  In light of some of the common language we use to describe our emotional experience, some of the above suggestions aren't really so outlandish...

Are You Stuck?

I've been grouchy and irritable today because I've taken on too much - I've overfilled my plate...

It's always fun, comforting, and convenient to blame my high level of anxiety on everything on earth outside of myself, though this sort of nonsensical thinking simply makes it easier for me to feel sorry for myself, act like a victim, and justify even more poor decisions, such as filling up my plate even higher...

Resentments and Cheetos

A friend recently told me his wife was behaving like a child.  When I asked him how he felt about the whole thing, he said he wasn't angry with her - just a little resentful.  He seemed to be in a pretty bad way, so I asked him how he was doing in general.  He explained how he'd stayed up too late the night before watching brainless television.  While struggling to stay awake through a very bad hair replacement infomercial at two in the morning, he inhaled a liter of Coke, snarfed down two pints of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey, and, for his coup de grâce, he devoured an entire family-size bag of Cheetos Crunchy XXtra Flamin' Hot Cheese Flavored Snacks.

Neither of us wondered much if his little episode had anything to do with his splitting headache, upset tummy, nasty mood, or the giant bags under his eyes -  it was all too obvious.

Talkin' To Strangers

A total stranger asked me how my day was going.  I was waiting for my double espresso, and I think he'd just finished paying for an iced coffee.  Being a generally social person, I was immediately pleased that someone seemed to have at least a modicum of genuine interest in my welfare.  This initial reaction was then slightly tempered, in the following three or four nanoseconds, by a cautious optimism that overtook me as I began to consider the distinct possibility that this seemingly harmless gentleman was, in fact, some sort of raving lunatic...


...preparing to pounce on the opportunity to get external validation from me, his next hapless victim.  As it turns out, he was either a real gentleman or an outstanding actor.  If forced to bet, I'd guess he wasn't acting, at least for the most part (note: those relationships closest to us present the greatest challenges for personal growth.  Consequently, random social engagements, given their comparatively superficial nature, are generally much easier to negotiate than the relationships we have with a spouse, close sibling, parent, or child).