Controlling Your Show of Emotions and Imagination

My last post was a video featuring Leonard Nimoy singing a goofy, weird song while being surrounded by hyper-happy dancing girls that were wearing groovy outfits from the 1960's or 70's. The video clip was odd for a lot of reasons but one thing, in particular, that seemed strange was that Nimoy, who all of us were familiar in playing the famous character of stoic Vulcan, Mr. Spock, was smiling, laughing and singing.

And seeing this started my thinking on a certain trek in my mind. But not a "Star trek". Har har har.

Try to follow me on this:

There were a few episodes in Star Trek where Spock's mind would be flipped and he would be showing different emotions, as a result of being drugged or being controlled by another alien or another reason but, for the most part, Spock didn't show his emotions. I also recall the episode where his best buddy, Captain Kirk had drifted out into space and was considered dead during the last 15 minutes of the show. When Spock found out he was alive, he laughed, grabbed Kirk's shoulders and damn near creamed his jeans (or whatever those pants were called) and exclaimed something like, "Jim, you're alive! I want to have your baby!" Well, not exactly, but you get the picture.

Spock had emotions, of course, in the Star Trek shows and movies. He just felt he had to be in complete control of them almost every minute of the day. Spock was a control freak when it came to that.

The first point I'm finally getting at is this: Spock changed over the years, especially in the last 3 or 4 movies with Nimoy's character in them. Not just age-wise, but in the way Spock was allowing himself to show emotion. In no other movie or episode was this more evident than in the last Star Trek movie with the young cast of actors playing the main characters of the original Star Trek series from the 1960's. In this movie, which I thought sucked except for the few scenes Old Spock was in, Old Spock was happy as hell to see his pal, James Kirk, again. Sure, the Kirk character was really young in this movie, but any version of Kirk was a thrill for Old Spock to see again. As far as Old Spock was concerned, as was everyone else, Kirk was dead. Old Spock showed his emotions throughout the movie in one scene or another and it seemed like he had finally let go of his stranglehold on his emotions.

The second point is this: I've known people that are as emotionally constipated as Spock or nearly as much. You likely know people like that, too, to a certain extent. People who are so afraid to lose control or bare their emotional hides, that they attempt to keep as stoic in expression and limit their revealing actions as much as they can.

When I was younger, I went through a spell where I kept my emotions hidden, as well. I felt it important that people see only the serious side of myself. I thought it to be of high importance to give off the appearance of being in perfect control. If I made a mistake or did something embarrassing (or what I thought to be embarrassing), I would be extremely critical of myself. Then a chain of events occurred in my life that taught me that this type of thinking was, in effect, being dishonest with who I was. Better yet, certain events showed me just how trivial it was to be that way. Life is too short and besides, it's a ridiculous mode of thinking to be in. Like putting yourself in a cage and placing shackles on yourself. I haven't thought like that for decades and I believe that is an example of emotional growth and courage. To thine own self be true. Shakespeare, of course.

Yes, indeedy, there was a time when I cared a great deal about what people thought but that seems long ago. Probably because it was. Say about 20 to 30 years ago. lol. The older I get, the more I just don't give a shit or rat's ass what this insane human race thinks. On top of that, I really don't respect what many think due to how most of the hairless monkeys on this planet seem to lovingly embrace war, money and nonchalantly pollute the world as if they had another planet to inhabit and... well... I could go on and on. How can you respect the opinions of a species like that? I know I can't.

Getting back to controlling emotional appearance: Now you see this every day with how some people interact with one another. They're very guarded. Very much in control of what they show and what they hide. They're either afraid of being hurt or wish to give off a certain appearance they feel that will cause people to take them seriously. Or some other reason. I mean it's okay to act tough in order to make others feel secure in a potentially hazardous situation. Like in a battle or a house fire or whatever. I get that. But I'm talking about the normal circumstances in our lives when some will go to either extreme in acting overly emotional and dramatic or not showing hardly any emotion at all. The most logical way to be, as Old Spock might say, is to just act the way you feel at the moment. Take the chance. Grow. Moderation is key, too, just like in anything else.

People, I've also observed throughout the years, seem to have lost their childlike qualities, too. I'm talking about their sense of wonder. Their imagination. What happened to reinforcing the idea in kids that it's alright to have an imagination instead of fitting them with certain items, like handheld electronic games or other things that tend to curb imagination. I know it's fashionable these days to copy one another but, damn it, people... what happened to original thinking?

Is that one of the reasons why Hollywood can't come up with any good movie premises or plots anymore and they're just going back and "rebooting", rehashing or "re-imagining" (I hate that term) older movies like The Wizard of Oz (it's true, they're working on a new version) or Superman or vampire flicks and so many others? I know part of the reason they do that is because of the almost guaranteed profit from name recognition but I think a lot of it is done from a lack of imagination.

I'm merely describing a few ways we place boundaries upon ourselves. We sometimes try to fit so well within the confines of society that restrict who we really are for the sake of what one person, one group or one species believes to be the correct way to express yourself. And who, better than you, should know how to be yourself? Answer: There is no one better. And that is my final point.

On a completely different subject, I've decided to challenge myself to a duel. Well, not really a duel but more like a game or test just to see if I can do it. For the entire month of April, I plan to write up a post each and every day. If a family emergency or some prolonged family obligation should take up most of any given day, the challenge will be paused. But for now, it seems like it's a doable feat. Hell, I just wanna see if I can make it happen. Some of these posts might be tiny. Some, not so much. A few might only show a picture of two flies fucking on a big heap of dung. Who knows? So, if you can keep up with the coming barrage of posts, that's better than swell. If ya can't, then I will be forced to show some emotion and cheerfully press a high voltage stun gun against your genitals and give ya the juice. Zzzzt. Zzzzt. Woo hoo!

Just kidding. Smiles, everyone, smiles!