To Party Or Not To Party - Why Do We Do What We Do?
Parties are thrown for a log of reasons. Birthday parties, graduation parties, anniversary parties, parties designed to get you drunk, etc. We are attracted or shy away from some or all for a variety of reasons.
Parties may be a place that brings up a log of bad memories. Family fights, sibling fights and significant other fights are enough to keep me either declining the invitation or making sure we aren’t close enough to each other to make eye contact. Considering most parties have a certain level of gossip (asa conversation), you can expect to get talked about whether or not you come to the party. It’s up to you to decide whether you want the grief or not. I have had a lot of family experience when one member of the family wouldn’t come if the other was. Talk about being caught in the middle. Six years later the scars remain and nothing has been settled.
Another reason to skip the party is just a plain old bad attitude. We all could use a little work on this once in a while. Sometimes an attitude correction comes in the shape of my wife reading me the riot act. And I thought only Wall Street had major corrections. It is better to be happy and cheerful and go to that “really great party”. Trust me, I know.
Many more reasons exist to not only like parties but come away with the feeling of our life being nurtured. We are a social people. The fact is, everybody wants to be wanted and accepted. Just look at all the social networking happening on the internet. It’s a global phenomenon. Websites like MySpace, Facebook and the thousands of other sites are a testament to it.
We can meet up with family near and far, catch up on the latest. So what if you have to be kissed by an Aunt or Uncle just because you are their favorite. Yuck! One of my favorite Uncles called me meathead. Good thing he called my brothers the same. How special?
Meeting new friends is always awkward but can be fun once the ice is broken. You just never know who you are going to meet. In some way whether social or business we are networking. Finding what position we have in the conversation. What can we give to it - what can we take? Is it selfish? Maybe, maybe not. If nothing else we are re-affirming parts of ourselves. Are we OK with ourselves, do we need a little tweaking of part of our work or home life?
Parties, hopefully are full of smiling faces brought together by design or chance. If for only a moment, we change our state of mind Party on.
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