On Saturday I was listening to NPR and the show was Ted Talks.  The topic was Decoding our Emotions.  The first presenter was John Koenig who makes up words to describe our emotions.  His book is Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, which I just love the title.  He made up a word, “saunder”.  I’m not sure of the spelling but that is what it sounded like to me.  It means understanding that every person has their own story.  They are listening to their very own soundtrack.  Each is unto a world in themselves. I thought this so overpowering.

I read a book years ago and don’t recall the name of it, but it explained to me that someone else’s sorrow is not yours.  That your own sorrow is your own and no one else’s.  You make the decision if you want to empathize with them, but you will never comprehend what they are going through.  This was a very powerful renaissance for me.

I have been a very emotional person all my life.  I cry over tv commercials, Hallmark cards and even a song.  I hate with a vengeance, I am overzealously happy, and or sad.  My soundtrack has emotional written all over it.

The next word they discussed that aroused my interest was “youyee”.  Again, not sure of the spelling but that what it sounded like.  It is the emotion that makes you want to feel like you did as a child.  I am surrounded with youyee.  I realized when I turned 60 that I was not a child any more and never would be again.  And yet I cling to youyee.

The next person to speak was Tiffany Watt Smith, a psychologist from England.  She introduced the Japanese word, “amay”, ditto on the spelling.  It means the feeling you get when you turn the responsibility of your own life to someone else.  I got caught up in my thoughts and missed what else she said of amay.  It was something about the difference in culture that amay would not be felt the same in an Englishman as it does to the Japanese person..

They went on to discuss whether emotions were universal.  Descartes describes the six emotions – wonder, love, hatred, desire, joy and sadness.  It made me wonder if our neighbors in surrounding nations feel these differently.  Even in different parts of the country, do people feel these emotions differently than our self.

In our little own soundtrack, are our emotions as different as every other person’s?  Are your emotions different than mine?  At this point in time, I felt I should give up listening to NPR.

On a happier and not so deep thought, The word, “toska”. means longing for nothing to long for.  Well, maybe that was pretty deep.  And my last made up word for an emotion is “basorexia”, which is the sudden urge to kiss someone.  I can say I have never felt that one.  No, on the other hand, I do kiss Emily dog frequently.

Peace be with you.  Is your peace different from mine?  Oh no!!!