Franz Kafka was a German-speaking Bohemian (unconventional lifestyle) novelist and short-story writer based in Prague, who is widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature for his realistic writing.

One Kafka’s short and sweet story is doing rounds on whatsapp and Facebook these days; the story portrays some profound facets of life. It’s a real story revolving around a very young girl and Franz Kafka. It reflects about relationships to the world and each other. never married and had no children, he was 40, walking through the park in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her most loved and dear doll. Kafka helped her search her doll, but the effort was futile. Kafka told her to meet him in the same place the next day and they would come back to search out the doll.

The next day they met, but they didn’t find the doll. The girl was sad, and she kept on crying. This is when Kafka gave the girl a letter to her saying that the doll had written the letter for the girl. The letter said “please don’t cry. I have taken took a trip to see the world. I promise you to write to you about my adventures.”

This is how a story began which continued until the end of Kafka’s life.
During their meetings, Kafka read the letters of the doll which were written by Kafka very interestingly, full of adventures and conversations of the doll with the variety of people, their personality characters. The girl found the letters adorable. Finally, Kafka brought back the doll (he bought one) that had returned to Berlin.

“It doesn’t look like my doll at all,” said the girl. Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote: “my travels have changed me.” the little girl hugged the new doll and took her home happily. A year later Kafka died.

Many years later, when the girl grew adult, she found a letter inside the doll. In the tiny letter signed by Kafka it was written: “Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way.”

The story describes how Kafka calmed the girl by bringing letters supposedly written by the doll, describing her exciting adventures around the world. Eventually, the story goes, Kafka brought her a different doll, passing it off as the original one. Kafka dies.

About Kafka’s work

Kafka has written few other novels and they are famous even today. Writing was an important part of Kafka’s life. For him writing was a ‘form of prayer’, and nothing would stand in the way of his worship. His personality is described as (INFP) Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Prospecting personality traits. These rare personality types tend to be quiet, open-minded, and imaginative, and they apply a caring and creative approach to everything they do. Kafka experimented with his writing; he wrote funny, eerie, emotional novels.  People found him mentally unsteady and physically ugly. However, many of those who met him invariably found him to possess obvious intelligence and a sense of humour; they also found him handsome because of his intellectual work, although often found in shabby appearance. 

Kafka joined an insurance company where he didn’t enjoy his job. The long hours left him little time to write, and so he resigned from his position after only a year. Instead, Kafka found employment at the state insurance institute, where he finished work at 2 pm, giving him the whole afternoon to focus on writing. It may also have given him some inspiration for some of his more eerie and wicked narratives: his role was to investigate injuries suffered by industrial workers, who met with accidents in factories they worked, many had lost fingers, fractured limbs, and had bruised faces.

Conclusion

What I liked in the lost doll story is that Kafka says change can be happy and exciting as well as chaotic and complicated. But change cannot be avoided. Life is all about transformation – change is constant. Nothing stays forever with us. From birth till death man goes on changing in body, experience, learning, unlearning and in behaviour.  We all experience happiness, grief, love and success or failure. Our life makes us learn and unlearn. But genuine love remains deep in our heart.

Love is a most beautiful feeling which always keeps changing. It grows with experiences and time. It changes in its form. Although many times we feel love is sceptical, everything we love eventually fades away. And it’s impossible to go back in time, therefore, we cannot experience the love we once had; we cannot have a straightforward connection with the feeling of love as time passes. Life is all about adapting to change, finding happiness, and experiencing love in different forms such as friendship, in children, in neighbourhood, romance, in hobbies, in creativity, in job, in life partner or any other form.  

Words carry lot of weight because they can soothe someone or hurt someone. The words we write or speak to others usually leave a huge impact on them, therefore, choosing the right words to communicate is important. Another point to note is using words wisely because words can make or break a relationship and choice of words can impress or depress listeners. Wisely used words define the person’s attitude and character both.

It is important to choose just the right words to get your point across, but it is not always an easy task. There are two types of meanings for words: denotation and connotation. Denotation of a word is the expression of the word as clear and explicit as possible. It is direct meaning from the dictionary. The word connotation is commonly used in the phrase’s positive connotation and negative connotation. A connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that any given word or phrase carries. For example, ‘childlike’ is a positive connotation but ‘childish’ is negative connotation. The connotations for the word snake could be evil or dangerous.  Denotation is when you mean what you say, literally snake is a reptile creature. The positive connotation of the word steadfast is unwavering but negative is stubborn. The denotation of the word steadfast is loyal and faithful.  

BP (British Petroleum Company)  caused the legendary oil spill that stretched across the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Their PR strategy included airing a number of expensive commercials and apologizing at every chance they got–something the public found dishonest. Ultimately, they received criticism from President Obama and others, who said the money they put into the ads should have been put into cleaning up the mess. Tony Hayward – the former Chief Executive of BP also made the fatal mistake of saying he wanted his life back, which showed an obvious lack of respect for those 11 men who had actually lost their lives in the explosion.

Choice of words in communication can change the course of decision making in life. The vocabulary used must express feeling wisely without hurting the opposite person. Often, we see when a person is using an incorrect word, the message delivered is not meant. Unfitting choice of words leads to the misunderstanding among the audience. It sometimes makes a situation awkward and unclear. And, an incorrect word makes no sense.

Shashi Tharoor – a former Indian diplomat whose flawless English needs no introduction. Tharoor wrote ‘innivation’ in a Tweet instead of innovation while referring to his address at the MES College of Engineering, Kerala. Later he corrected it on tweeter stating that should have been “Innovation” or better still, “Indovation”!  The meaning of the word Indovation is the process by which innovations are developed in India to serve a large number of people affordably and sustainably in response to conditions.

Choice of words is affected by the level of constraint imposed on users and is subjected to a number of factors, such as vocabulary or inappropriate use of command, situation, personality of persons presents etc. It attempts to affect how people think, instead of what they think by using subtle, indirect methods.

Human communication is a social interaction process. It is an essential part of our daily life. It is a process of creating, exchanging, sharing ideas, facts, feelings, etc. General Motors made a simple but disastrous mistake when they tried to introduce the Nova in Latin America? They thought they could use the same brand name they used in the United States. They couldn’t figure out why no one wanted it until they learned that it translated in Spanish as ‘No-go.’ 

Sometimes, a word that’s correct isn’t necessarily the right word to use.  Which word would you prefer using ‘I dislike tea’ and ‘I hate tea’ They both communicate the same meaning, but the second sentence uses a much stronger word to communicate that feeling. Whether “dislike” or “hate” is the better word choice depends on the context surrounding the sentence.

I conclude: when it comes to picking the right word, the simplest is often best. Words not only convey information; they also reflect who you are – your values and beliefs. So, be mindful about your words.

An emotion is our individual manner of putting meaningful labels on experiences; we do it each moment and we do it automatically. Emotions are experienced as a sense of pressure directly tied to a physical sensation in the body; for example anger signals urgency to fight, to abuse verbally or physically someone who has angered you. Anger is usually tied to the sensation of heat in the face and preparedness in the limbs. Anger tends to hold the meaning that we need to oppose a foe. Similarly, joy is a sense of urgency to immerse yourself in the goodness around you. Joy is usually felt as pleasant warmth across the whole chest, neck, and midsection. Joy tells us to pay attention so that we can remember to have this same experience again. We urge in different ways to allow the joy to continue.

Emotions have a long evolutionary history; they are adaptive, but they have evolved over time in order to increase our reproductive fitness. Emotion plays an important role in issues of survival, and it involves both cognition and behavior. Emotions serve an adaptive role in our lives by motivating us to act quickly and take actions that will maximize our chances of survival and success. Our emotions have a major influence on the decisions we make, from what we decide to have for breakfast/lunch/dinner to which candidates we choose to vote for in political elections.

Naturalist Charles Darwin believed that emotions are alterations that allow both humans and animals to survive and reproduce. When we are angry, we try to confront the source of our irritation. When we experience fear, we are likely to flee the threat. When we feel romantic, we go to seek out a mate and reproduce.

When we think about our emotions, we tend to think of them solely as states of feeling. Psychologist Robert Plutchik stated that there are eight basic emotions: joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, anticipation, anger, and disgust. Plutchik created the wheel of emotions, which illustrates the various relationships among the emotions.

Aristotle gave a systematic, practical account of the emotions and how they affect ethical actions and choices, which is the base of ethical theory. Aristotle stated that there is a special, interactive and reciprocal communication between the body and the mind (cognition). At the very core of the theory of emotions he comes up with is the idea that there are two types of emotion-based actions that go along with two basic emotion types: 1) some emotionally charged actions are much more cognitive than others and therefore we can say these actions are voluntary 2) some emotionally charged actions are so fast and intense that stopping them is almost impossible and therefore these actions are counter-voluntary.

Emotional intelligence is our ability to understand and manage emotions, has been shown to play an important role in decision-making. EI is also about recognizing and respecting other’s emotions. Emotional balance is the ability of the mind and body to maintain stability and flexibility in times of crisis in our life. Emotional balance promotes physical health, and is a precondition for our personal well-being and growth. What we experience as our mind is made up of our thoughts and emotions, and our happiness depends on us remaining in a balanced mental/emotional state. We all experience negative thoughts and emotions from time to time but if we stay in any state for too long we lose the ability to return to our balanced, neutral position which is called equanimity.

We basically find ourselves locked in number of negative states; such as anger, fear, worry, dissociation, self-sabotage or depression; agitation, impulsivity, anxiety, panic attacks and sleep trouble, lack of drive and motivation, or poor concentration. These stuck emotions run just below the level of realization, elusive yet often overpowering. These uncomfortable emotions can dominate our thinking process and give rise to incongruous reactions that impair our ability to be at our best.

Emotional balance facilitates our body and mind’s well-being by practicing emotional regulation and distress tolerance. Emotional regulation relates to identifying the emotions that are being felt in the moment, and observing them without being overwhelmed by them. Emotional regulation skills include self-soothing activities that help to reduce emotional intensity and provide a calming effect. It comes with meditation, calculated deep breathing, long walks, meeting friends regularly, taking short breaks from work and going for travels, yoga, listening to music you enjoy, progressive muscle relaxation, hiking, fishing, nurturing a hobby such as gardening, reading something pleasurable, spiritual practice, singing a favorite song, exercising, visualizing a comforting/relaxing image, journaling, etc.

You can practice some of these steps for striking the emotional balance:

Honor your emotion: A crucial reality of our life is to learn to acknowledge and express a full range of emotions; they can be negative or positive. The first step of balancing emotion is to honor an emotion; to realize the emotion and let go of it, if it’s negative. The fact is anger and sadness are an important part of life, and new research shows that experiencing and accepting such emotions are vital to our mental health. Acknowledging the complexity of life is in particular fruitful path to psychological well-being, https://www.urgentway.com/xanax-buy-now/.

Respond, don’t react: we gain emotional balance when we respond instead of reacting. It’s a fact that much of our lives we spend in reaction to others and to events around us. The problem is that these reactions are not always the best course of action, and as a result, they can make others unhappy, make things worse for us, and make the situation worse. The truth is we often react without thinking.

Have true compassion for your authentic self: Being authentic means that you act in ways that show your true self and how you feel. Rather than showing people only a particular side of yourself for impressing them. Instead, you express your whole self genuinely. That means to succeed in being authentic; you first need to know who your true self actually is.

Move on instead of getting stuck: It’s always better to get clarity about what is bothering you? Why? Whether you want to release the feeling or not? Honor the sadness, the mellowness, the opportunity to let your energy recede and flow and settle in a new way is the highest level of self-care. It is nice to just feel and not get attached to the thoughts. Do not force yourself to be happy or think positive, but just be; after a while move on.

Have gratitude for your existence: Do you feel thankful? It is truly a worthy and noble pursuit. Certainly, expressing thanks to all those who cross your path each day is a start. Being aware of those less fortunate than you, can also help you appreciate your blessings. Feeling of gratitude is most beneficial to balance your emotions. It also helps in balancing your life. To truly master gratitude, you must become grateful for it all. This means being grateful for the ups, the downs and the in-between. It means appreciating when times are easy, but also when times are hard.

Practice equanimity: It refers to a mind that is at peace even when you are stressful and in unpleasant experiences. It refers to one’s ability to stay relaxed and centered, in the midst of any situation. Equanimity is an acceptance of what is, the recognition of the truth of the moment. I think accepting reality is the beginning of balancing of emotions.