The Differing Emotional Capacity of People
“All men are made equal“… or at least that is what Thomas Jefferson and the American Declaration of Independence would have us believe! I think otherwise… and this is why.
Differing Emotional Capacities
If we were all equal, then there would be no difference in one persons emotional capacity, over another. And we both know that you do not have to look further than your own home to see differing emotional capacities in action. Let me explain.
Prior to the birth of my first child, my wife and I discussed the impending ‘new order’ and in particular how we would cope with a third person in our emotional circle. Up until then, I had singularly enjoyed my wife’s entire emotional capacity but now I expressed my reservations at having to accept ‘half rations’ or half her emotional capacity, with my impending daughter receiving the other half.
After the birth of our daughter, non of the above transpired and the reality was quite different!
Both my wife and I love our daughter to the maximum… and I still enjoy my wife’s full emotional attention! But how can this be possible?
Easy, my wife simply doubled her emotional capacity making enough for both my daughter and me. I on the other hand, split my emotional capacity between my wife and daughter making it half for each… the very thing I dreaded would happen to me!
In the final analysis some people like my wife, seem to have an infinite emotional capacity and can simply increase it as and when needed while others like myself, seem to have a finite emotional capacity and have to divide it up among the various recipients.
Perhaps it’s another ‘Male / Female‘ thing…
Tags: emotion