Emotion ɪˈməʊʃ(ə)n/noun
plural noun: emotions
1. a strong feeling deriving from
one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others[1]
These
days it’s not difficult to go online and find some meme dedicated to making fun
of Drake. You see for a rapper Drake has been called ‘soft’ because he
expresses some kind of emotion in his lyrics. Rap music isn’t known for expressing
too many feelings…
I
am no music connoisseur by profession but I come from a family that seriously enjoys
music, and rap music has always been a feature amongst my cousins and even some
aunts and uncles. It’s from this premise
that I can say that I have come to understood rap music as being a poetic
outlet in which people express their story, be it actual experience, a fantasy or
a ridiculous dream! Yes it’s a predominantly male industry and I have read
about, seen and heard how there’s just no room for (gulp) feelings or emotions!
I
have had discussions with peers about Drake being talented but just way too
‘sensitive’. Ultimately I have observed how showing any type of emotion especially
in a predominantly masculine society makes you weak or rather makes you get
labelled as weak or wait a ‘soft person’ (what an injustice).! Because you see
in a masculine society, we are all (men and women) predominately logical, and
focused more on reason than on feeling.
Yes
ok maybe I am a tad bit biased because I am a really big fan of Drakes’, and
because I am a person who is well aware and in touch with her emotions. And while
this is true, me being emotional that is, it is also true that I am not very
expressive of that fact because I am not inclined to being vulnerable, it’s a
twisted situation! Or maybe it is what I took from the world an observation
that showed me that being vulnerable makes you a victim and I am not inclined
to being a victim.
The fact is sharing your emotions/feelings makes you vulnerable, to hurt to ridicule, to something genuinely uncomfortable. And in a world where being in control of oneself is safe, I have to say I admire people like Drake because there’s a certain strength in being vulnerable…courage I believe Brené Brown[2] calls it.
The word courage stemmed from the Latin word Cor, it’s original meaning as Brené Brown highlights in her TED talk was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart. It isn’t easy and I struggle with it, but as I grow the more comfortable I become in affording my emotions an opportunity for expression whenever and however they are so inclined. Maybe I am finally seeing the beauty in being vulnerable sometimes, the strength in being brave enough to intensely feel what the world has to offer, and the world has so much to offer (still).
So in defence of emotions and of artists like Drake who dare to put a part of their soul into their work… There’s no such thing as too much emotion! There’s nothing wrong with showing your whole heart and/or emotions…it’s liberating! Emotions spark revolutions, are the catalysts of change affect others and allow them to know and connect to your story. It’s part of what makes us human…
[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emotion.
Above image courtesy of http://www.trendycovers.com/covers/Fingers+Heart-685
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