The Exculpation of Circumstances

Lately I have been reading and thinking about the level of influence circumstances have on emotions. There is a distinction that needs to be made between feelings and emotions. Feelings are stimuli we receive from the world around us. Emotions are conscious responses to such stimuli. Some people argue that some emotions are inevitable; however, that has always seemed to me as contrary to an inherent property of being human: The eternal truth of agency. If circumstances were to define how we are to react to stimuli, then we would lose our freedom of choice. Circumstances, defined as the existing conditions surrounding an agent, may only affect him or her to his degree of allowance. They may not impose or define his or her actions, emotions, and desires. These are therefore rooted in aspects of consciousness and under the control of oneself. So, experiencing emotions of boredom, anger, sadness, disappointment, happiness, love, or hatred, is our choice. I do recognize that it is easier to blame the circumstances for what happens to us and for our state of mind, but the responsible thing is to choose what state of mind we want to be in every minute of our lives.