Braiding joy.

A few weeks ago I attended the Great Challah Bake at the Boulder JCC. Me and three hundred friends mixed sugar and yeast and flour and eggs into round doughy balls, braiding the rolled-out strands into challah works of art. 

The energy in the room was contagious, the joy palpable ~ the crowd measuring and mixing in unison. And then it hit me: this was collective effervescence in action, that sense of harmony people feel when they come together around a shared purpose. Bliss at its best, a phenomenon identified by sociologist Émile Durkheim in the early 20th century. 

We are all searching for moments like these ~ found at music concerts, on soccer fields, in a group “Happy Birthday” song, at block parties, and in any kind of creative gathering. May we keep seeking those moments that lift us, link us together, and remind us that we’re never meant to do life alone.