Do I think or do I feel? Sometimes, when I say I think something is a good idea, I really mean I feel. It's easier for me to say I think, more detached and neutral, but if I say I feel, that seems to make me more engaged and also it's more personal. I've been practicing saying I feel lately, and doing so seems to change the nature of what I say. If someone asks me about my younger daughter's upcoming wedding and I say I think it's great, I'm an observer. If I say I feel great about the event, happiness is conveyed.
In my case, I speak and act more out of feeling and instinct that much thoughtful processing. I hope my actions are an amalgam of the two, but honestly, the weight leans heavily in the feeling end of things. I'm highly reactive, as many of us are. I'd rather speak out of measured response, and I attempt to have that pause that not only refreshes but keeps me out of trouble, but often I'm impulsive. I'm an enthusiastic sort of person, highly verbal, and social. I can lose my mind a little bit. Just being aware of my own nature helps me pause, these days. But sometimes the right thing to do is be impulsive and get caught up in playfulness and joy. So my now normal habit of caution spills over and acts like Jimmny Cricket to the wild and crazy me. Mostly.
For me there is a freedom in saying I feel. I own what I'm saying, there is no adversarial stance, as there seems to be when saying I think, and I'm invested without wishing the hearer to be persuaded to my point of view. I can't expect others to feel as I do. But sometimes I expect others to think as I do. It sort of takes my pronouncements out of the political arena.
I may feel optimistic about the A's baseball team, but others are free to feel despondent, or think they haven't a chance, given their recent statistical history. But those others are going to cut me some slack, because I'm not proselytizing or arguing. I'm just live and let live, and you can right me off as goofy if you wish.
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