A: Hi, my name is XDV76, I'm not from here. I'm visiting Earth from a distant planet.
Me: Are you an alien then? An Extraterrestrial?
A: From your point of view I would say that it is a correct definition.
Me: I always knew that sooner or later I would meet one! What are you doing here? Where is your spaceship, come in peace?
A: I'm here for a cultural exchange. My job is to write a report on you humans. I'm having a lot of difficulties. Sometimes you are very similar to us, other times you do strange things. Can you help me understand?
ME: Of course, what do you want to know?
A: I was observing you before with your dog: the quadruped undoubtedly needed to go to the toilet and you accompanied him, he needed to run to keep his muscles efficient, this is clear. But you didn't just accompany him, you ran with him, you touched him, you got licked by him. Why?
ME: Because I have fun with him, I love him and in this way the time we spend together is not just a set of mechanical actions, it is a moment in which we are happy together.
A: Well, that's exactly what I don't understand: running with him or having your face licked what's the point?
ME: it serves to communicate, to pass sensations, emotions. We human beings are not strange, we only have so many ways of perceiving reality and so many ways to communicate it.
A: Explain yourself better, why are you talking about so many realities? It makes no sense. For us the reality is the objective one, for you it's not, it seems obvious to me.
ME: Oh yes that makes sense. There is an objective reality and its understanding usually comes from the mind, from our wonderful thinking organ, the brain. But there is also a subjective reality, every man sees and feels the world through his emotions. And emotion is how we react to sensory stimuli, that is, what we feel, see, hear, but also what we remember. Let's say it is additional information, something we use to better understand the world around us, it is a language made up of sensations. And like all languages it serves to communicate.
A: So if the dog licks you what is he telling you? What purpose does it serve?
ME: To communicate that he is happy. He can't speak.
A: and when he licks you you smile, why?
ME: because I'm happy that he is happy. We humans call it empathy.
A: I'm sorry, but I don't understand what happiness is.
ME: I'm sorry you can't understand. Happiness is an emotion, a reaction that my body and mind share. When you are human and feel happiness, your whole being is satisfied, the mind conceives fluid thoughts, and every cell of the body participates in this moment of perfection. Because you see, emotion is a moment, it arrives, grows and then goes away. But it always leaves a trace in the memory.
A: I still don't understand, what is emotion for when you have a brain that thinks?
ME: They serve to send signals to the brain, emotions have allowed us to survive in this hostile territory, they have guided us where intelligence would not have been enough. The emotion of fear allowed us to protect ourselves, that of the anger to defend ourselves, that of joy to look for companions with whom to proliferate our species and so on. We humans are not machines, we are all different and therefore unique. And what makes us unique are the emotions we feel and the ability to share them.
A: So there are no human beings without emotions?
ME: I would say no even if unfortunately many of us pretend not to feel them
A: Really? And why?
ME: Because emotions are sometimes very strong or confusing and then we think they are not reliable and even though we feel them, we behave as if we don't feel them
A: I didn't know they existed until my trip to Earth, but from what you told me, it must be useful to feel them.
ME: oh yes, it's always useful but not always simple. Some emotions are cold, others make you feel bad, even physically. But then they pass. For us humans, emotions are a guide in the world. You know , like a sort of interstellar navigator?
A: I think I'm starting to understand!
ME: Stop for a while with us, maybe we will find a way to teach you ... I assure you that if you felt human emotions a sunset would no longer be just the phenomenon of the sun that disappears under the horizon coloring the sky.
A: and what else can it be?
ME: many humans, in front of such a natural spectacle, feel happy, so much so that some cry with happiness!
A: you are really weird you humans!
