hurrah, humanity!

Many of us would have a much better life if we spent more time being grateful for things. It's Monday morning. I'll go first.

I just spent an enjoyable afternoon in the living room of somebody I've never met before, listening to a concert of wonderful music by some terrific performers. Those performers were partly friends of mine, partly people I barely know, and one that I had never met. The music was written by people who are mostly, or all dead, and who lived thousands of miles away in different countries. They had no idea their music was going to be performed on this occasion but they lent it to us anyhow.

Now given the horrible kinds of things our species of capable of doing to its own members, those of other species, its environment, and so on, it seems good to reflect on how we, apparently alone among the earth's living creatures, can coordinate and agree to meet at a specific time and place, for the purpose of making pleasurable sounds, or enjoying said sounds, and also cookies and conversation. Some create music, some recreate music, some organize its production, and some show their enthusiasm for its continued existence.

It is, on the one hand, a very strange thing to do. But we have two hands, and we can clap with them. Such applause may seem simple and naive, or unnecessary. Or maybe it hits you like a breath of fresh air. In any case, aren't we something sometimes?

Now go back to your drudgery. And sometime in the midst of your dull routine, punctuated by news of the awful, take a moment to think up something else that is truly bizarre among the customs of humanity, and truly wonderful. I'll be here.