The Art of expressing...

How do gestures matter? Should we reassure the presence of something that is quintessential for survival? Like, should one reinforce that there is air and that we are breathing it? Why do we express our emotions? Like anger, irritation, frustration, hate, love, despair – each having their definition and appropriate use? What does it mean to empathise? I mean, why should one actually express oneself? Is it not obvious when you know someone?

“Don’t you know how I feel?”, is such an obvious question and I wonder, how can one get into one’s mind to actually understand how one feels at that point of time? Is it logically possible to pin down one’s emotional quotient? Then why should there be a language to express emotions and why do we need so many words to bring out the stark contrasts of each emotion a person feels at a point of time? Smiles, tears, hugs or slaps… all these can be buried deep under, the entire expression language can be shoved into a casket and buried deep inside the earth or rocketed to Mars, right?

“Is this how much you understand me?”
Ha, the ever obvious finger pointing, but then, how difficult is it to actually concede one’s own feelings, consciously?

I keep wondering if it has got something to do with our culture and education system that one can barely form a coherent thought of expressing one’s own mind and thought. But then, I think it has nothing to do with the culture or education and everything to do with a self who cannot put a minimal effort to actually form an expression that would satisfactorily put forth a point! When I read the poetry written by Kalidasa or Devulapalli Krishna Shastry or Sri sri or Rabindranath Tagore, I keep wondering what happened to the likes of those people? Not that they are easily found, just that I wonder what is so grossly wrong that putting a word in front of another to form a meaningful sentence is so darn difficult!

Gone are the days where we talk in riddles or in verses, playing word games, elaborate discussions, healthy taunts, introspective sarcasm. May be we are too used to talking to the machines that our words are half broken, just as our emotions are, that we are failing in satiating a desire to express. The SMS, MMS, chat and whatever other means of communication exist have shaped the thought process of a human that the abstract definitions are the only possible means of communicating. May be we are just too used to abide by a contract that, internally we all manipulate ourselves to define a specific interface, saying this is what I can do and this is what I should be doing. May be, one should try chilling out and relaxing and stretching those defined rules and perceive the intuitions of letting go of taking oneself too seriously.

There is a beauty to expressing and when put properly can actually stir a soul to awakening. Saying I love you, even to a daughter or son or a wife or husband doesn’t mean much, but it actually is nice when they are told. A reassurance sometimes is essential, that helps fight a nightmare, when there is someone out there, who loves you. They are simple words, but when a dad says it to a daughter or a son, it is an assurance that no matter what happens, I am here for you and my love for you will never fade even when you find your own love. When a mom says it, it is a mere fact that she loves her child beyond reason or logic and is willing to defy the world just to protect her from the nightmares or the challenges that time has to offer. When a brother says it to a sister, it is a declaration of a loyalty. When a friend says it, it is a promise to stay forever through the treacherous hardships of life with an immovable faith in you that helps you face the life. When a husband says it to a wife, it is a declaration of his soul that is willing to walk to the grave and beyond. When a wife says it to a husband it is a declaration of faith that helps sustain a life.

Saying a thank you or a sorry does not belittle the person. Saying a Good Morning or a Good Evening or a Good night does not require a truck load of energy. It is a wish for God sake and is trivial, but may be it can make a difference to a person who is in desperate need of some encouragement. A hug, a smile, a reassuring touch, a soft peck, a pull of the hair, a caress of your cheek, a compliment is not so difficult. It only requires a fraction of a second. An acknowledgement of existence isn’t either. Subtle things make a difference. A change in the body language can speak volumes. Simple things can put life in perspective.

Why is it so difficult to confess these emotions that are running through the veins? Why is it that there is a sense of sanity in being plainly clueless to these expressions?

It is easy to mistake that everything can be read on face. How do we know the depths of the sea, looking at the vastness of it? How many volcanoes it holds beneath? A face can be a mask, eyes can speak volumes and so does a heart beat, but for a person who looks at your face or reads between your lines, it is not possible to sum up the content of it. It is not possible to fathom the depths of emotion a person holds by looking at a face, it would be like walking on thin ice, never knowing what is beneath or how dangerous it is. The beauty of speech, the coherence of language, the awareness of touch, smell, sight, taste, sound – all are there for a reason, to be used, liberally. Humans are blessed with an ability to think, talk and express. Using them elaborately does not do any harm to the existence of this planet. In fact it only serves better. Express ... express the thoughts of mind and heart and feel the lightness of the soul. Express, it makes a lot of difference.