Mind Over Matter

We hear about all sorts gruesome, inhumane behavior by rapists, murderers, child molesters, and we're left in awe of what might motivate someone to do these things. On the other hand, we also hear about the altruistic behavior of others, and are pleasantly surprised by the amount of good that can exist in this world.

Taken from a logical standpoint, these types of behaviors seldom phase me. We learn about the world through the specific environment that we grew up in, so the child of a bigot is statistically more likely to be racist than someone growing up in a safe, multi-cultural environment. The values that I place on restraining behavior comes from a series of events in my life that reinforced the fact that control is more important than blind passion. While I don't absolve the aformentioned criminal acts, I am not surprised that there exist people in this world that have not had the same types of environmental experiences that I have, or possess the same values I have.

What surprises me though, is how much I am affected by innate urges that are neither logical or reasonable, and have no specific foundations in my experience. For example, in the opening of "Seven Things", Miley Cyrus whispers "shhhaaa..." in rhythm with the music. This sends shivers down my spine, and I can't focus on anything for the next fifteen minutes. It doesn't make any sense to me, and it's unclear what the true implications are, but to be affected by something like this without specific reason just baffles me. This is not a learned stimulus, I was not conditioned to appreciate the particular expression.

Are other stimuli are out there that could quickly descend upon me and reduce me to a shivering ball of tears, or fuel a knuckle-blistering rage? How can I predict when these things are going to happen, when there is no foundation for these instinctive reactions? It's the intensity of my personal reactions that startles me. I can control my behavior, but apparently, I can't control my emotions.