Where do your emotions reside? Are they things in your head or things you feel in your heart and gut? For most of us, it is likely a combination of those two bodily locations. We feel “out of sorts,” depressed, or burdened and that manifests itself in drooping shoulders and a slouched physique—which then prompts us to think about why we feel that way and ponder this emotion in our head. Conversely, we feel “on top of the world,” happy, and exhilarated and that is evident by the spring in our step—which leads us to mentally list off why we are feeling so good so we can remember this special moment.
We commonly consider all our emotions to be deeply personal matters. We describe them using “first person” language: I feel happy, I feel sad, I’m frustrated, angry, or bored. But a recent article I read suggests that we should remember that emotions are actually social realities. They are responses to social interactions, not just private moods. For example, research has shown that you will laugh five times as often when you are with others as when you are alone. You may find pleasure in individual undertakings, but real experiences of joy and peak happiness mostly come from collective activity.
The sociologist Émile Durkheim coined the phrase “collective effervescence” to describe the energy and joy people discover when they come together around a shared purpose. I love the vivid imagery of that phrase, suggesting that like a bubbling glass of champagne, being together with others whom we enjoy causes happiness to bubble up within us in an effervescent way. The reporter writing about this (Adam Grant) described how this feeling can emerge when you join others in a line dance, when you’re energized by a positive brainstorming session with colleagues, when you’re among teammates on a soccer field, or beside friends at a religious service. As you can imagine, it was that last phrase that really caught my eye.
Over the past weeks, we have all been re-emerging from the Covid-pandemic. We know that some precautions are still in order and risks remain, but we have begun to meet together, eat out with friends, and even return to worship services. There are some anxieties to be confronted as we find our “comfort zones,” but the chance to shake someone’s hand or hug a family member after being apart for so long truly fills us with effervescent joy. Moments like that are part and parcel of when we worship together. Being able to sing a hymn and hear other voices around us or say the words of the Lord’s Prayer and do it in unison with others in the pews evokes a special emotional reverence that simply cannot be replicated alone at home.
Remember that most of the imperatives in the Bible are meant to be read as first-person plural. When the psalmist says, “Sing to the Lord a new song,” we are being invited to join our voices together in a type of “collective effervescence.” In the days ahead, seek out these moments of collective joy and shared happiness. Laugh, dance, sing, and yes, worship with others. Such is the way of our wonderful, shared faith.
—Randy Bush