Peacebuilding &conflict transformation A ... - Peaceworkafrica

4.4 FeelingsAnother deeper layer to understand conflicts (& violence) relates to less visible,mental and emotional processes — the feelings that people hold 26 . Feelings can bedescribed as indicators, showing if our felt needs are satisfied or frustrated; they provideinformation about our state of well‐being:▶ physical comfort or discomfort: I feel cold, exhausted, comfortable,hungry▶ level of involvement in intellectual activities: I am interested, confused▶ fulfilment (or not) of our needs: I’m happy, joyful, frustrated, I feel sadNote: feelings can also be a result of interpretation. For instance, anger can be aresult of judgment (work is not done and one judges: they are useless people), joy asa result of opinion (he is such a good guy), guilt as a result of thinking like ‘I shouldhave done…’Some examples for feelings and their connection to needs and actions▶ Positive feelings such as love and joy make people open and tolerant to othersand ready to continue whatever it takes to keep this positive feeling.▶ The opposite is feelings of hate, fear, mistrust. These negative feelings maycause a person to become intolerant of others. These feelings may be used toclassify others as inferior or to put others into categories with a mostly negativeconnotation such as gender, religion, race, ethnicity, mental ability or politicalideology. From there it is only a small step to misinformation or prejudice.Additionally, this feeling‐interpretation‐link can lead to ‘seeing’ people fromother groups as somehow ‘less’ human, which opens the way to inhumanactions against them (examples of this are: colonialism and slavery, genocideof Jews in Europe, apartheid in South Africa, racial injustice in the US).How we are likely to feel when our needs are satisfiedAbsorbed, adventurous, affectionate, alert, alive, amazed, amused, animated, appreciative,aroused, astonished, blissful, breathless, calm, cheerful, comfortable, complacent,composed, carefree, concerned, confident, contented, cool, curious, dazzled,delighted, eager, ecstatic, enchanted, encouraged, energetic, engrossed, enthusiastic,excited, exhilarated, expansive, expectant, exultant, fascinated, free, friendly,fulfilled, glad, glorious, glowing, good-humoured, grateful, gratified, happy, helpful,hopeful, inspired, intense, interested, intrigued, invigorated, involved, joyous, joyful,jubilant, loving, mellow, spellbound, splendid, stimulated, surprised, tender,thankful, thrilled, touched, tranquil, trusting, warm, wide-awake, wonderful.4 . S o u r c e s o f c o n f l i c t 115