Feelings and Senses are Liars

Only fools put absolute trust in their emotions, relying solely on their senses.

Robert walked into the hotel lounge, still reeling from his terrible day. He should have punched that ingrate right in the mouth, except she’s his boss. He sat at the bar, caught the bartender’s eye, and said, bourbon, make it a double. Every emotion, nerve, and even his adrenaline was fully triggered. The very handsome bartender carefully sat the drink before Robert, smiling warmly. Robert slammed the drink and pointed at the empty highball glass, indicating that another one was required, when he felt someone sitting beside him.

Robert turned to find a gorgeous woman sitting next to him. He froze at the sight of her; he noticed that his scalp was tingling. Looking into her eyes, he felt his heart skipping several beats. He took her entire shape into his mind like he was taking a high-resolution picture. Every part of her body was internalized deep in Robert’s psyche. Looking at her lips, he could taste the kiss he fantasized about. Then her perfume hit his nostrils, triggering a response he had not felt since he was a teenager, which continued to bloom. The whiskey was warming him, but that was not what he felt. What he was feeling was love at first sight. Robert was euphoric; every emotion and nerve was fully triggered, and adrenaline flushed through him. Opening his dry mouth to speak, he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder from behind. Slowly turning around to look while still being hypnotized by the woman beside him, he sees his fiancé smiling at him.

Robert felt his heart drop; his ears started to ring; he was lightheaded and felt nauseous. The bartender carefully sat the next bourbon before him and gave him a mischievous smile. Robert slammed the drink and pointed at the empty highball glass, indicating that another one was required. As he greeted his fiancé, she pointed at the woman beside him and said – (As she talked, Robert had an Out-of-Body-Experience. He was devastated and felt fear, shame, and exhaustion all at once) – “This is my best friend from college; she’ll be joining us for dinner tonight.” Robert had forgotten about dinner or that his fiancé was in town. The bartender handed Robert his third drink, stroking Robert’s hand as he relinquished the drink.

Robert’s fiancé leaned over to kiss him, but he felt nothing. He was numb, but it wasn’t from the alcohol. The hostess came over to notify them their table was ready. The two girls went ahead of him while he settled his bar tab. The bartender came over, handing Robert the bill, and with a wink, said, “Call me.” Robert looked at the bill, and there was the bartender's phone number. Every emotion, nerve, and even his adrenaline was fully triggered. Robert slammed the third drink and made a quick exit.

Faking a phone call, he motioned to his fiancé that he would take it outside. She just waved him off as she talked with her girlfriend. Once outside, the cold air hit his overly warm body; it felt amazing. As he leaned on an outside table to catch his breath, a mature lady who looked just like Sophia Loren asked Robert, “Are you by yourself?” Robert replied, “Sadly, no. But thanks for asking.” As she walked away, he realized everything he had felt today was a lie. His senses triggered multiple responses throughout the day that had nothing to do with reality. If he had allowed his senses and feelings to guide his responses to the events of the day, he would have been in jail, had no fiancé, and had reacted poorly to a sincere request. His answer to Sophia was the first honest answer he had given all day, based on a good decision, not emotion or feelings. Otherwise, he may have walked off with Sophia.