My sister* and I often lament together about the emotional ignorance that is so prevalent, unhealthy, and counterproductive in the world today. Hopefully, my  Burst of Life Overview page shows my dedication to getting in touch with one’s own emotions in order to communicate effectively and to function in society, indeed as part of what makes us human. But the reason that technological domination frustrates me so much is because it thwarts productive communication, prevents necessary interaction, and too often blocks self-awareness altogether by an illusory need for expedience and sophistication.

I don’t see people taking time to smell the roses, is what I’m saying. Sitting, relaxing, and getting in touch with one’s own feelings is a waste of time in the hustle and bustle today where doing seems so often to take precedence over thinking and feeling. This assembly-line mentality disgusts me. It’s like humans have turned into robots. Crying is foreign and being sad is taboo. Computers have not only overthrown our collective civilization, but they have also obliterated our humanity. My sister and I have a unique bond as identical twins, but we are also unique in our sensitivity and intuition. We actually take the time to admire a job well done even if it’s as mundane as mowing our lawn or picking up clutter in our house. It’s absurd that we are unique in this, but as far as I’ve seen, relatively speaking, we are.

I throw up my hands at customs where being sad over the death of a loved one even brings on guilt because you’re not supposed to feel that way. I’m sad when couples think they should be able to dismiss the feelings of loss over miscarriages, because they can create another fetus anyway. And people inflicted with depression are treated like big babies so often that they begin to believe it. Grieve, get over it, buy yourself a new puppy’ are situations too often seen and heard of by me. It’s disgusting. Humans wouldn’t be human if they didn’t cry over the death of a loved one; a new baby doesn’t invalidate the loss of the first one; and depression is a chemical imbalance, just as real as a flu virus. Humans are human, obligated to have, behold, and share a wide spectrum of emotions to enrich, not complicate, society.

I’ll never forget the date I had about eight years ago when my date and I were looking at a photo album and I started to cry at a picture of my dad who had just passed away a couple months earlier. Granted, it was very out-of-place on a romantic date, but even after I explained, the dude was still clueless about what to do. The answer is nothing. He didn’t have to do anything but let it be.

*my sister wishes to remain anonymous