August 14, 2015
(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every
day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)
In the middle of complicated lives, simple things
can bring pleasure—even silly things we do, things that puzzle us why we like doing
them. Why is it fun to pop bubble wrap? I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t enjoy popping
one bubble after another. Once you pop one, you can’t stop until you’ve popped
all of them.
Perhaps it has something to do with instant
gratification but not entirely. People generally don’t find the same kind of
pleasure in popping balloons. In fact, for some people, it is scary. Maybe it
has something to do with the sound then. The tiny sounds are not threatening or
unpleasant. I think of it as a pop with a giggle. It’s possible there is
something in the repetitive action that attracts us and distracts us. And then
there’s the tactile connection. We can roll the bubble around under our
fingers, teasing it and ourselves, wondering how far and how hard we must push
before it pops. Such a visceral connection between touch, sound and
satisfaction.
There could also be an element of joy in
destruction—but a playful destruction similar to building a house of cards for
several hours and then gleefully knocking it down. Maybe this is really the
answer. When we pop one bubble after another—and enjoy it the way we do—we are
in touch with our inner child.
My
gift today is bubble wrap.
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