09.23.09
What Did You Expect?
One of my favorite hobbies is meeting celebrities. There is an excitement and electricity in the air. Usually the other people in the area of the celebrity are also excited about the opportunity to meet in person one of their heroes (or even their villains–in this sport, it doesn’t matter). Each of the photos in my website Photo Gallery was accomplished through luck, sheer determination, or sometimes (each time?) a divine intervention.
I have no idea how this hobby got started. I remember meeting my first celebrity, Dennis Miller, back when I was in high school and he was on SNL news. This was way before I had a website, a plan for what I would do with these photos, or any logical reason for my actions.
The worst way to meet a celebrity is when I have to go through a gatekeeper. It was easy meeting Bruce Springsteen. My Dutch friends and I approached the guard at the door of the Green Parrot in Neptune, NJ and he was very nice. He motioned us in, saying, “Yes, he’s in there.”
It was much harder trying to meet Alice Cooper last weekend. I went to the most logical places–the local private golf courses. And this is (finally) where and how all this relates to HUMOR.
Our sense of lightness is a radiating influence on others. Unless the person you encounter is completely psychotic, they will realize that you are a fun person. That you mean them no harm.
Yoga instructor and writer Sally Kempton calls this mirroring a positive feedback loop. Read all of her article here: http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/2547?utm_source=Wisdom&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=wis176
Kempton says that we get back what we give out. She even cites recent studies in neurophysiology, “that describe a particular type of neuron whose function is to pick up and mirror the emotions of others—literally throwing back what someone puts out.”
Some of the people at the golf courses were helpful. Especially the young (Gen Y and below) cart boys. Because I knew they weren’t hiding any information from me, especially when they said, “Alice Cooper? Who is she?” There were other people, though, that I sensed were untrustworthy. Did they sense my sensing, and then distrust my intentions? I don’t know. This was too complicated; I just wanted a photo for my website!
Kempton explained it this way, “If I have a tendency to distrust you, you pick it up and throw it back to me—maybe by mirroring my distrust, maybe by keeping your distance. Thus, we create a vicious cycle and replicate negative experiences.” The good news is that opposite is also true: We can create positive experiences that will be mirrored back to us, too. And we have the power to make that happen.
So, although I didn’t get my photo with Alice this time, I at least got a short video clip next to him (to watch the video, click on the link above).
In the meantime I’ll keep sending out positive vibes…and you send them back to me.
