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Our everyday life is filled with a lot of emotions. Pain, anger, happiness, jealousy, envy and pride are just some of them. Even though everyone goes through these myriads of experiences, how equipped are we in terms of dealing with them?

Right from childhood, we are taught to excel in a lot of areas wherein academic excellence is the primary requirement. Be it Geography, History or Math – we have the right support and arsenal in place to go conquer them. We are, in fact, assessed, compared and hung dry on the pedestal of achievement when the pursuit of “knowledge” takes such aforementioned connotations. But, why is it that the basic aspects of managing life such as handling relationships, understanding emotions, living ethically and inquiring philosophy treated with disdain and contempt? Is it because they don’t “add” to your achievements which will help you get your new promotion, new car or even a new spouse?

The eminent philosopher Krishnamurti once said, “The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.”. But so caught up are we in this complex and chaotic world that we have no time for observing ourselves and this is what brings me to the root of the problem in terms of understanding these emotions. The art of Observation is what we need to cultivate in this day and age. The moment you separate the observer and the observed is when you start identifying yourself. The existential crisis has always dwelt upon this sort of analysis and I am no new to this phenomenon. The more we are aware of ourselves, the less aware we will be.

In conclusion, getting a handle on our emotions is really more tough than we could possibly imagine but it is not the end (ability to master these emotions) that is the ultimate pinnacle of achievement but the process we undertake, which is unique to every individual, is the most cherishing experience in this human life.