People who spend their time around others know that emotion is infectious. Some are more affected than others.
Happiness, anger, stress, anxiety.
It’s instantly apparent when you meet someone full of anger. Whatever you were feeling before is replaced with negative emotion. Likewise, a brief encounter with someone full of positive energy an optimism can leave us buzzing with positive energy if only for a little while.
That’s why I love taking wedding photographs. Everyone is happy and it’s contagious. Even a group of strangers all brought together by a happy occasion such as a wedding is an instant pick me up if I’m feeling less than positive.
Same with Christmas, but instead of just a small group of people, it’s the entire community.
Every year the publisher asks if I want to take time off at Christmas and every year my response is the same - it’s the best time of year to be in the office and I don’t want to miss it.
Even though it can be the most stressful time of year for many people, you can’t ignore the good feelings getting passed around as friends and strangers wish each other a Merry Christmas.
It’s a powerful feeling that overcomes the negativity that leads to so much tragedy in our world. Such a shame that we can’t keep it going all the time.
Wendy Coomber is editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal