We are endowed with a fucking magnificent separation of our rational from our emotional.
It’s why the space between what’s said and what’s done tends toward vast.
Why what we think and what we feel are so damn dissonant so often.
Why knowing something and understanding it are very different truths.
Why theory’s so pretty and reality’s so gritty.
Why so much of what’s on social media’s a steaming pile of regressive cumchuckle.
Why we’re forced to reconcile what people say against what they actually do to get to who they really are… and if what they’ve said is any sort of valid.
The brain/blood divide is our essence. What we need to understand before we can understand ourselves, others, and the way the world really works.
The Brain is what we think we are… at least, what we like to think we are. In reality it’s the crafted, optimized version of us we try to show everyone because it looks and sounds good. It’s what makes sense – the thoughtful, logical, mature stuff that should be said and done. It lives in potential and optimism, shaping the narratives we create (whether true or not). The Brain is our presentation – our personal marketing.
But The Blood is what we really are – where we really live. What happens in the moment when the brain’s overwhelmed by surges of instinct, ego, curiosity, arousal, passion, greed, tribalism, defiance, frustration, fear and all other sorts of primal. It’s our rough edges – the life-affirming illogic that feeds on feeling and fuels our impulses. What the heart uses to so easily bypass so much of that beautifully-crafted thought to get what it really wants. The Blood is our real-real, our deeper substance – our soul.
We are the ongoing collision of brain and blood – of thought and feeling, logic and emotion, sensible and fun.
It’s a fucking war zone… and in the war of what makes sense vs. what makes sensation, sensation usually wins.
Some examples –
Reason and Logic
Brain – Reason and logic are obviously the best way to go about things. If you just take time to research, think rationally and are fully honest with yourself you’ll figure out the best way to do things and distill truth. Blood – Ugh reason and logic are so boring. Yah they’re smart but there’s no excitement… no feeling. Feeling is meaning. Too much of life’s spent in a state of forced logic… so let’s only do that when we absolutely have to. Otherwise booooo…
Communication
Brain – If people communicated more and better a lot of the problems we have now wouldn’t exist. Full, clear communication is the key to building better relationships and a better world. Blood – Don’t volunteer too much – it shows over-eagerness and immaturity. It exposes and obligates you. Whomever volunteers less has more power – mind the gap. You can hide behind vague communication and change the narrative as you go to suit your shifting needs. Besides the important communication’s done with body language… not words.
Confidence
Brain – Confidence is superficial social presentation that can be (and often is) faked. Without backup it’s meaningless. If you really think about it the people who usually are the best at things are the ones always questioning if they’re good enough – since that’s the relentless kind of perfectionism that naturally creates the best at anything. Confidence is easy – delievering’s hard. Blood – Wow they seem so sure and strong. My feelings and gut instinct tell me they’re the real deal because they’re projecting certainty, so naturally I’m impressed by and believe them. Sure there are others that have better, proven track records, but they don’t come across as well, so yeah, no.