These Silhouettes

We all have those crazy weeks where we’re stressed and we don’t get enough sleep and one thing seems to upset the entire applecart and suddenly everything is falling apart. Even as it feels like time is rushing by, we can still see in slow motion how we’re riding a landslide that’s taking us further from where (or whom) we want to be.

Let’s face it: We’re people. Sometimes we’re a total disaster. We fall off the handle over silly things. We worry obsessively over what turns out to be nothing. We expect greatness from our peers while also expecting them to completely drop the ball.

And then suddenly there’s a sporting event, and it doesn’t matter what political party we like, or what house of worship we attend, or whether we’re a morning person or a night owl, a dog person or a cat lover--Suddenly, we’re all one.

One voice, one emotion, one voluptuous cheering mechanism. We’re friends and neighbors and nobody cares about some differences that turn out to be so subtle in the end. For a few amazing moments, everyone’s hugging, everyone’s cheering, everyone’s covered in mustard and soda and beer and popcorn.

Speaking of popcorn, I remember a time when the movies were so epic you’d go back to see a show more than once. The first time I saw The Matrix, most of the theater shouted, “Take the blue pill!” when Neo was confronted with the choice of learning the truth or going back to his comfy bed. When I saw The Brady Bunch Movie, every seat in the house was taken, and at the beginning credits, we all sang the theme song out loud. We can laugh until we cry in moments like this. We’re all sitting in the dark, enjoying the same thing and feeling like we have a family bond with these silhouettes around us, and the last thing we want is for that feeling to end. When the closing credits come up, we don’t jump up and start hunting for our belongings and empty food containers. No, we stay seated and applaud and whistle and cheer before finally getting up to gather our things, everyone smiling, everyone feeling the energy in the room. We’ve just shared something great together. We’re suddenly exactly where we’re meant to be and we’re doing what we’re meant to do.

People are messy. We’re messy, lovable creatures that can fall completely apart or pull ourselves up by our bootstraps—and either way we remain connected, bonded, precious, and so very human.

~

My newest book will make you laugh, cry, and well, no—It’ll make you laugh. And you’ll remember just how great life can be: Stories From the Road