If You Could See Emotions, They’d Look Like This

We welcome Fatimah Popal – Altmuslim’s new columnist. Her column, “The Heart, the Mind, and some Magic,” will appear in the second week of each month.

If emotions were tangible and were showcased in glass containers …

Happiness would be a blinding yellow with complementary audio of laughter at the push of a button. It would be dressed in silky floral fabrics and humming frequently while occasionally licking a decadent chocolate ice cream cone.

Disappointment would be wearing a dark pair of sunglasses and a large brimmed hat, not looking anyone in the eye.

Regret & Guilt would be busy in a bag of greasy potato chips. Heavy. Wavy like the ripples in the sea caused by a bored vacationer skimming stones.

Pain would be bruised and bumpy, twirling in a red fog. And quite ugly, Gollum’s twin. Onlookers quickly turn away. Definitely not sought after.

Trust would be wide open. Inviting everyone to touch the glass surrounding it. And everyone does.

Anger would be hot, and not the super model kind of hot. Hot as in Anger would actually melt the glass container into a liquid, its consistency similar to spoiled honey that begins to ferment.

Sadness would be gray. ashes strewn across all areas. quiet and curled in the fetal position.

Excitement would be shaking and uncontainable, jumping around like Richard Simmons on fire.

But Love…

That’s the one everyone crowds around but they can’t quite make anything out of it.

It’s dark but it’s also luminous. You hear giggles and yet, you see tears.

It begins to speak, and you are about to make out some of the words, but then all you hear is purposeful silence.

Love is enclosed in the biggest container of all … because it has to be large enough to hold all the other containers within it.

Fatimah Popal is an all American lady with a sprinkle of Kandahari and the scent of Rumi. Wife of a gentleman, mother to two button-nosed lady bugs, conflict resolution practitioner & IT geek, motivational speaker, bursting with creative energy & love & pouring it into the world. Despite the hecticness, lives to tell all. Her column appears in the second week of every month.