Things that are contagious . . .

Sighs. It’s like somehow one person’s willingness to release gives everyone around them permission to do the same. Maybe they are releasing merely a breath, but often it’s something weightier, like stress, certainty, or grief. Maybe the sigh is a confession—of insufficiency, of peace, of delight, of connection with oneself—but whatever it is, you cannot be in the presence of a true sigh and fail to join in, even if you are skilled at hiding it.

British accents. Go ahead and start talking in a British accent and see if the ones you’re talking to don’t join in. I dare you.

Laughter and Tears. And their parents, Joy and Grief. They usually come as a set. We laugh till we cry, and we cry until all we have left to do is laugh. Sometimes we choose one in order to avoid the other, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t both there together. They are hallmarks of our humanity, and only those who have stopped being human can resist their contagious power.

Humanity. Even though there exist those that somehow manage NOT to succumb to being human and the influence of those who have embraced their humanity, it is still mostly contagious. We read and see and experience others being wildly human, and we are moved to do the same. That’s why it’s so vital we use our humanity for good. Because the bad kind is catching too.

Silence. It’s hard to resist the pull of Noise, but if we do, we will find the silence spreading. Eventually, the noise will noise itself out and will join us in just being. Try it sometime, instead of trying to out-noise the noise. I promise it works.