Emotional Filtering

When we talk about emotions, it is difficult to distinguish them from the label. “I feel guilty” or “I feel sad” are labels for emotions so that we can communicate them to other people. But, when we do this, we have already filtered the feeling through language. We have already identified it, categorized it, sorted it and we are ready to ship.

The feeling of sadness itself is different. The actual feeling is accompanied by certain actions: crying, weeping, dejected expression, slumped shoulders, apathy, etc. This is the feeling. However, when we analytically-minded people notice a feeling is when we try to label it. When this happens, we generally look for an explanation. "Why do I feel sad? Am I depressed? What is wrong with me? Am I going to be like this forever?" And we start to do what we do with everything else: we look for causes.

However, not all people operate this way. Artistic types try to describe the feeling without naming it. Rather than looking for an explanation, like a scientist might, the artist looks for a different way of understanding it. "My sadness is a wilting rose." The artist tries to remove the layer of language and directly communicate the feeling. It is a valiant effort. However, no one, no matter how skilled, can do this. Our emotional experience is filtered whenever we put it into a communicable form. There is no way that we can put the taste of beer into words accurately enough that a person upon tasting it would say: “I knew exactly how it would taste from your description.” The same goes for communicating our sadness, joy or any other emotional experience.