A change of mood can be considered an ordinary thing that we are confronted with several times a day, both with our own mood ant the mood of others. We are able too sense the mood of another person. Some are more sensitive than others, but anyone can spot a very angry or very sad or very happy person and notice the feeling that is involved. We recognize the mood based on facial expressions and gestures, language and emphasis, posture and eyes. Many people can feel the mood of those around them. We can get swept away with it, can protect and shield us, can try to defend us and get upset. We can also feel and observe our own mood. The atmosphere in the room affects our mood, and our mood affects the atmosphere in the room.
How strongly our mood swings is very individual. For some, it swings often and with a high amplitude. They are either euphoric and full of energy, or depressed and dejected. It is an alternation between two extremes, overjoyed or heartbroken. Driven by ambition and giving it all or pulled down by futility and overwhelmed with doubt and anxiousness. None of those two conditions is bearable long term, not by oneself and not for those around. It is exhausting to be in such a condition or to deal with someone in it. At the same time such conditions are also important, because they give life its spice. They make us feel alive. However, it is reasonable to reduce them to special moments and otherwise maintain a relaxed and content basic state. That saves energy and reduces the risk of becoming unable to maintain good health. It is a difficult task, depending on where we stand in life and what worldview we have.
It can also happen that we end up in a stable but unhappy basic state. Wenn happiness is not achieved and the motivation subsides, then we basically surrender and drift in a more or less indifferent, skeptical and bitter attitude towards the world. The question of being generally satisfied with our life or not is irrelevant as a child and then becomes more and more important as we get older. Our answer depends among other aspects on how we judge our own responsibilities. We can view ourselves as the designer of our life or as a victim of circumstances. As humans we are both, we are creator and creation at the same time. Both is true, and a constant one-sided orientation results in overexertion and dissatisfaction. The sooner we begin to wonder about this question, the easier it is to accept the life we had so far and to find the meaning in it.
There is more than one way to leave mood swings behind and establish a stable, content basic state. The old fashioned path makes use of religion. However, this path is suitable for only few people today, because we no longer want to depend on revelations. We want to know, we want to understand. We need to recognize for ourselves that both our life and the world we live in are good the way they are. Some people recognize this quickly and seemingly with no effort. Others never recognize it throughout their entire life. It is important to know that the value of a life is not dependent on recognizing this. Every life serves a purpose and contributes to the development of a human and mankind as a whole. There are no two individuals who come here on earth with the exact same goals for life. And no one is qualified to judges another persons life. We can condemn someones actions, we can distance ourselves, but judging a person as a whole or someones entire life will never do it justice. We can look into it, but should avoid a final verdict.
And still, we often wish that the people we care for do not suffer in vain. That they find faith in life and the world, allowing them to achieve a satisfied and optimistic attitude to life. We are often confronted with friends and family who struggle to achieve this. And that is not very surprising when the official answer regarding the origin and purpose of mankind is random chance and damage control for one’s own existence. How could we be happy with that? We need a purpose that enriches the world. And in the currently promoted worldview, which is presented as scientifically correct and implies that we know almost everything there is to know about, we cannot find a purpose for mankind that adds something positive to the world. This leaves us with the possibility of either questioning this worldview and extending it for ourselves, or to simply accept it and take one of the small tasks that are offered to us. Usually we combine this with some substitute actions, consuming a lot of stuff and constantly escalating what we are aiming for, because the chosen or given task fails to give us the fulfillment we desire.
The purpose of a human is to become a free individual, a free spirit. This task is not easy to understand with the background of today’s worldview, and it is even more difficult to explain with language. The potential for freedom, the existence of freedom itself is often questioned today. There are many very long essays about what freedom could be or should be. The concept of freedom is shattered and analyzed. We try to derive life from the laws of nature that we found, and we struggle to find freedom there. We act unfree so often that the existence of freedom is forgotten and becomes a myth. We certainly still have a long way to go in our quest to take freedom. Obligation and duty, temptation and deception, suffering and pain will accompany us for many centuries to come. Our ability to take freedom depends very little on our circumstances, and very much on our beliefs. Obviously both interacts and we can change neither our circumstances nor our beliefs within an instant. We cannot simply deny them. But the world helps us to become free. What we thought yesterday has become today’s reality. What we think today is shaping our future.