Pennies to Riches

I have been thinking about spectrums lately, as they relate to human interactions. Autistic spectrum disorder is defined as: "a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication and by restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behaviour." The inability to relate to others is an extreme circumstance and for the autistic person, there are organic and physical explanations for the condition. Lately my reading is about psychopathy and it is defined as: "a mental disorder in which an individual manifests amoral and antisocial behaviour, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, etc." There is evidence that psychopathy too, has organic components. Speaking plainly here, both conditions are marked with an inability to emotionally relate or have compassion for another. To be amoral is not to be immoral and this is what I am working through as I write. I am going to compare emotions to a bank account. Lets start out with every kind of currency available to us, from pennies to $100 000 bills. Emotions as currency would look something like this: blame, jealousy, envy, revenge, hatred=pennies; loneliness, worthlessness, betrayal, abandonment, rejection, humiliation=nickels; fear, anger, hopelessness, despair=dimes. These emotions feel like bankruptcy, petty cash for the soul. I have felt these feelings as I am sure you have too, Dear Reader? The question is whether or not we want to stay in the nickel and diming of these sentiments or perhaps, move our way upward toward the big money. Are you ready for a bigger deposit into your emotional bank account? Lets use the currency of bills in our metaphor. Self pity=a dollar bill; frustration, worry, guilt, pessimism=five dollars; anger, resentment, boredom, frustration=ten dollars. These are the currency of pain expressed. Invaluable really because when not felt and expressed, they can drop you down into piggybank change, the emotional bankruptcy currency of despair and hopelessness. You aren't bankrupt, are you Dear Reader? You have range, a spectrum of emotions and their expression available to you! Did I hear you say you want more? Ok lets go for the big bucks, the emotional riches that can be yours, shall we? What do you believe about hope, love, peace, acceptance, living a life of purpose in joyful relationship with others? What dollar value do we place on these sentiments Dear One? How full is your emotional account, right now as you read? Clearly, you are reading this for a reason. I started this piece of writing with extremes, with those who are incapable of emotional connectivity. The question at this point is how emotionally available are you, to yourself and others? The $100 000 bill emotion is Love and if you can feel this, Dear Reader, you are rich beyond accounting. I heard a great definition for emotions: it is energy that moves through us. No one emotion is wrong or right, amoral or immoral, they are expressions of what is going on inside of us. We get to choose the predominate emotions, the ones that can take us from bankruptcy into riches. Feel them all, and than choose Love anyway.