Alexandra Bye | Deanna Troi “Star Trek: The Next Generation”

“Neil deGrasse Tyson once said; “Imagine what would happen if we taught empathy in our schools.” I’ve spent a lot of time researching Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs and how it influences the “self concept.” Visually, Maslow’s theory is organized in a pyramid with essentials for sustainability on a basic, physical level ie: food, clothing, water, warmth, rest, which make up the base of the pyramid, along with safety and security needs. The next two tiers are made up of physiological needs such as belonging and love ie friends and relationships and then Esteem needs Such as prestige and feelings of accomplishment. Lastly, topping off the pyramid are self-fulfillment needs, such as, achieving ones fullest potential through creative means.

In the pilot episode of TNG, we are introduced to a world where humans are able to help each other achieve their fullest potential and sustain a thriving society without barbarism, fear, selfishness or violence. The members of Star Fleet have their basic needs covered so they can use their free time to innovate new technologies, explore new worlds and do more of the stuff in that self fulfillment tier. The kind of idealism I daydream about.

When we look at the world we live in today, it’s easy to see many people live with an incomplete pyramid. Scarcity mindset breeds selfishness, greed, violence and negativity. Strangely enough, this has not much to do with socio- economic standing because sometimes the poorest people are the most giving and the wealthiest are the most selfish and greedy. It actually has to do with emotional education. If you understand your own feelings that cause you to feel scarcity, fear, jealousy, anger, insecurity and negativity, then you are more likely to be able to understand others and therefore work together to help each other grow. This is a blueprint for a good relationship, but it could be so powerful if we prioritized emotional literacy therefore, extending our understanding, our empathy to those outside our immediate circles. Humans have always been stronger as a group. Isolation, embarrassment, selfishness and fear separate us from the pack and prevent us from reaching our fullest potential. Our emotional selves are the largest untapped well of human strength and innovation. Our lack of emotional intelligence is holding us back as a species.

I am a freelance Illustrator and I often find myself in situations justifying art as a profession to people lacking in emotional awareness. They say “art doesn’t matter” and to that I say Thats the same as saying language doesn’t matter. Art is our way of exploring what it is to be human. Sometimes you can’t find the words so you need to use metaphor in poetry or the crescendo of an instrument to get your point across. Sometimes the feelings are so complex you need to employ multiple variables from all sorts of media to say what you need to say. The value of art is not monetary or gauged by weight or size; its value is in its resonance. It helps us record and make sense of our own feelings share our experience with others who perhaps have felt the same thing and together we can learn about this complex system called emotion.

Art is communication of emotion. Emotion, is the dormant superpower of humans. Understanding emotion, how to hear it, how to control it, is the next step in our evolution. Science and technology are important yes, but how much do you think we could get done if we understood our feelings enough to overcome fear and insecurity to realize our fullest potential? To stop the fighting before it started? To be selfless enough to say I’m sorry or to understand what basic needs must be met to abolish constant anxiety and chronic depression? Imagine what we could create if we could only make sense of emotions that weigh us down.

When I’m defending my job as an artist, I always make a case for the importance of emotional intelligence and communication. Through art, literature, meditation, counseling or community, emotional awareness is paramount to understanding the “why” of human nature. I usually punctuate my justification by saying ‘Theres a reason Deanna Troi is on the bridge’ ”

— Alexandra Bye