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According to a recent Gallup poll, Singapore is ranked as the least emotional country in the world. So, is it good to be less emotional?
For the sake of economic growth, a consumerist society encourages people to be more emotional. It promotes the concept "consumerism equals happiness" so that people will buy more. It creates excitement by stimulating the five physical senses so that people will buy more.
It also encourages people to boost their ego emotionally so that people will buy luxurious, yet non-essential items. If people buy into this belief, they will naturally feel unhappy when they are unable to buy. They will also have to buy continually in order to feel emotionally high. In this type of society, to be more emotional is therefore considered “good”.
On the other hand, from the perspective of a spiritual society, spiritual evolution encourages people to be less emotional. It promotes the concept “peace is better than happiness”.
Since inner peace can be achieved independent of external objects, people will buy less and be less emotional. Since it encourages people to focus on spiritual part of their being, it discourages stimulation of the five physical senses; people will therefore buy less and be less emotional.
Since it does not encourage people to boost their ego emotionally, people will not buy luxurious, non-essential items. If people buy into this belief, they will not feel unhappy when they are unable to buy.
Instead, they will feel peace and equanimity irrespective whether they buy or don’t buy. In this type of society, to be less emotional is therefore considered “good”.
Dr Tommy Wong, 59
Author
