Time for Some Collective Effervescence.
…The reality is that emotions are inherently social: They’re woven through our interactions.
Research has found that people laugh five times as often when they’re with others than
when they’re alone. Even exchanging pleasantries with a stranger on a
train is enough to spark joy. That’s not to say you can’t find delight in watching a
show on Netflix. The problem is that bingeing is an individual pastime.
Peak happiness lies mostly in collective activity.
I didn’t make this up. People smile five times more in the company of others than alone.
We find our greatest bliss in moments of collective effervescence.
It’s a concept coined in the early 20th century by the pioneering
sociologist Émile Durkheim to describe the sense of energy and harmony
people feel when they come together in a group around a shared purpose.
That’s one reason the covid-19 isolation was so hard. Welcome back joy!
If you’ve masked and gotten vaccinated, you deserve it. If not, check the newspaper. People are probably still dying every week in your state.
