Double Rainbow
Have you seen the double rainbow video yet? It seems to be making the rounds; in the past few days I've seen it mentioned at least six or seven times on Twitter, Facebook, and various blogs. You've seen it, right?
OK, if you haven't seen it, take three and a half minutes and watch this:
If you're like, well, just about everybody, your immediate reaction is to laugh. The phrase "rainbow-gasm" might come to mind. You might idly wonder whether the guy is on drugs. And, yeah, it is funny, and I was thinking all the same things, but I'd like to take a second here and ask you a serious question.
Have you ever, in your entire life, been that happy about anything?
I have known some truly joyous moments. I remember the swell in my chest when I saw Juliette walking down the aisle toward me. And sometimes when I look at Jason, I'm so happy it feels like light is going to shoot out of my torso like a weird, Japanese-man version of a Care Bear Stare. For the life of me, though, I can't recall a time when I was so overwhelmed with excitement and beauty that I completely lost my shit. It strikes me as kind of sad.
For that matter, I don't think I've ever seen anyone I know be that happy, or even heard anyone talk about having been that happy. It's not even surprising to me, either. Being so thoroughly overjoyed and effusive just isn't socially normal. That's why it's funny. And even at that, we're only able to laugh at it because of the separation provided by the fact that it's a video. If you saw someone freak out like that in real life, you'd probably be uncomfortable. I know I would be.
Stop and think about that for a second. What does it say about our collective priorities and values that we'd feel weird about someone being really, really happy near us? Isn't that at least a little bit messed up?
I wish I were the kind of person who could get so worked up over a rainbow. I'd love to know what that feels like. I don't know if I ever will, but it seems like the kind of thing that might be worth working toward.
Comments
Mike Sakasegawa:
I, too, place a high value on the ability to maintain control over myself. And to the extent that it, for example, keeps me from lashing out when I'm angry, control certainly is a good thing. But I think it's worth examining our reasons why we want to be in control all the time. In this guy's case, he's not hurting anyone by being so uncontrollably happy. Why is it bad to lose (or let go) control in that way? Is it a "slippery slope" type concern? I don't know. I can't help thinking that valuing control more than happiness may be deeply unhealthy, though.
PSI:
I've been pondering a similar question myself, just recently. At our Fourth of July family reunion, I acted like an "idiot." I ran all around the backyard with my children and my cousins' children waving sparklers and dancing and shouting, trying to get all the kids to follow my lead and have the same kind of fun. The adults in my family laughed at us (mostly me) but none of them joined in. It wasn't until today that it occurred to me to wonder if I've been breaking some sort of social rules for adult behavior. Is it abnormal for a twenty-eight-year-old mother to want to have that kind of fun? If not, should I care? If so, why doesn't anyone else do it?
PSI:
Err....change "is it abnormal" to "is it normal" and the subsequent questions will make more sense.
BG39:
I think that behavior is normal, PSI. In fact, I think that's the area where I need to be a little less anal about myself. That's normal and healthy, and I envy you that ability.
Mike Sakasegawa:
I agree. Playing with your kids is normal. And awesome.
BG39:
I get where you're coming from, I feel the same way, but I think you may be on to something about the drugs. I think that's what makes me the most unconfortable about it. I don't like to lose control of myself, and this guy obviously has. If he's not on drugs, he's doing a pretty good impression of a manic episode. I don't think I want to feel that way.