After all the celebrations that have taken place in the last few weeks in Philly and Nationally (the World Series Championship and the Presidential Election Results as the biggest two), I've been meaning to write about how these celebratory experiences were significant to me (and maybe to us).
Celebration in general is very significant. When we show our excitement and passion for something, we show our true colors. You can't hide behind the facade of the middle road (the critic's road, the indecisive or objective road) and celebrate something. Nope, you have to put yourself out there and say "I care, and this moves me to joyfulness!!" (well, you probably wouldn't say it like that, but you would say "F*** yeah!!" or "Wahooooo!!!" or something else.) But you are really showing that you were invested.
It's good to be invested in something. I think we often ride the fence in order not to get hurt or let down. I'm a king of this. I often stay indecisive so that I'm safe from the disappointment. I think it's noble and objective thinking, but really I'm just controlling my outcome.
What I realize is that when we make a decision and have something riding on the outcome of an election or a sports team or some other random thing, we find community. Making a decision lumps me into a group of people who have made a similar investment of time, energy, and passion. When it succeeds, we succeed together. When it fails, we fail together. What's significant is that it breaks down walls that existed before. It loosens our views towards "those people" and helps us to realize that we are more similar than we thought.
That was what was coolest about these past few weeks in Philly. Celebration has torn down some of the barriers that has kept this city bitter and it's people unfriendly. Who knows how long it will last (It's probably already faded a good bit with the change in the weather.), but for a season our hearts were softened. We hugged, high 5ed, and yelled in the streets together, and we felt like a real true community. Good celebrations can do that.
1 comment:
This post on celebration, and our reasoning for celebration as a facet of "showing our true colors," this favorite quote of mine came to mind. I suppose it is not really related to celebration, or your post, but I thought it did for a moment.....
"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."
How do we decide what to celebrate?
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