Where's happy?

Hopefully all of them. Throw a rock and you'll hit happy. Have you ever been to an amazing concert? The band is playing the best song they've ever written, an energy and vitality like it was the first time they played it and crowd is going apeshit like it's the first time they've heard this musical genius!

What is that special feeling that everyone (except maybe the drunk people barfing in the port-potties) is experiencing? That euphoric happiness that is so strong, if a bomb was dropped on top of all of you, everyone would be fine with it. What is that connectedness that makes you lock eyes with a total sweaty stranger three rows down, while you dance and sing the lyrics to each other? Invisible, but palpable. Free, but invaluable. Strong, but fleeting. What makes this happen?

This can be said of all events where groups of people come together to share a joyous experience. Sports, movies, parades. It can also evaporate quickly and leave sad, anxious, angry feelings if something goes wrong. Like when your football team is winning big and the other team slowly comes back and that moment when they take the lead, its as if everyone was struck with depression and insecurities. They always use the term 'the air got sucked out of the stadium'. What is that? What sucks the collective exuberance out of a crowd?

Imagination. Our Collective Imagination gets condensed, concentrated when we're all together, sharing an experience. Our Imaginations are working together toward a common idea -- how awesome this concert/game is going to continue to be. The best fucking concert ever! That's what the Collective Imagination is doing and it's so powerful, it can suck in everyone.

If something goes wrong, someone gets hurt, the music stops, your team goes down late in the game, the same Collective Imagination that created the happiness hysteria, turns to Imagining the worst. The ripples encompassing everyone. Is the person gonna die? That might have been the last note my favorite band ever plays? Our season is over.

Overwhelmingly these events stay positive, fueling our happiness and love for each other without a word being spoken. How can we create more events and coming together moments where we tap into the beauty and power of our Collective Imagination? We should have huge coming togethers for no other reason than coming together.

For love alone.