Flash Mob Tears

Why do flash mob videos, which seem to be a trend as of late, make me cry? Every.Single.Time. Even the ones that aren't "touching" for any reason in particular. I just start to tear up over and over again.


One of my friends posted one on Facebook today, which is where they seem to be cropping up lately. It didn't involve singing or incorporating the crowd, but even so it touched me.

So, what is it about this whole flash mob crazy that reduces me to a little girly man?

I think it's just that the news and media are often full of images of violence and destruction. You hear every day about human beings treating each other less than humanely. Whether it be at school, in the grocery store, or in our places of business, it seems people have somehow lost their compassion for their fellow man. Many days, I'm left wondering what this world is going to look like twenty years from now if we can't seem to be polite and friendly on a daily basis TODAY.

I think people nowadays don't engage as much with others, despite the increase in social media. It's like we are almost afraid to step out of our comfort zones, behind our computer screens, and really notice others in our environments. I don't mean our friends and family, I mean people working in stores and restaurants, strangers on the street, fellow grocery shoppers. It's easy to be jovial and friendly over the net, but what about face to face with the cashier bagging your food?

As we all go about our daily lives, we kind of keep our heads down and do our errands single mindedly. We worry about another's motives if they seem chatty with us, we fear we will be asked to reveal more than we wish, or that prying will ensue. Worse still, are we all just "too busy" and "pressed for time" that we don't even have that second to look into someone's eyes and make thirty seconds of small talk?

Enter the flash mob. People gather around, giving up whatever task they were so hurriedly doing, to watch and smile. They engage with others around them in awe at what they're witnessing. They enjoy a human connection that involves our most primal core entertainment of singing and dancing. It just seems for that brief moment in time that people let down their guard and just feel..........happy. How often do we do that in a crowd of others?

The negativity in the world can feel overwhelming at times. The flash mob, to me, is an example of how at the bottom of it all, we just need to gather together, hold hands and sing Kumbaya.

Well, and maybe let our backbones slide a little too!