The energy of people

I’ve been thinking lately that the world is based on energy. All things require energy to move, from the burning sun to the tiniest cell. But more specifically, I think people have different energy levels, and it affects the environment around them.

I remember a time in primary school when I was about 11-years-old. After lunch a few members of my class and I went for choir rehearsals and had a good time singing and socialising. When we got back to the classroom, we continued chatting and laughing and being kids as kids do. Little did we do, Mrs Mountford had achieved a legendary level of quiet concentration in the classroom before our arrival- all the students had been perfectly silent, writing in their books and absorbing knowledge. Our return disrupted this erudite quietude, and within a few moments everyone was chatting without a care in the world.

I think this is a good example of energy, and how variable it can be. People who achieve low states of energy, for example by lying on a couch watching TV might be sluggish and slow to respond to things. A person who has sprinted fifty metres would probably feel vibrant and awake. Someone who is good at meditating might feel their body relax and their mind sharpen. I don’t know how many different “types” of energy there are, but I suspect there are a lot more than “energetic” and “not energetic”.

 

Another example I’ve been pondering over is that instinct that drives young men to fight. In a group combat fitness class, it is typical to get “psyched up” by having music with a pounding bass and an instructor who yells at you to push harder, move faster, keep up the intensity. It is easy to see how this might translate to a large protest, where everyone is bristling with anticipation and energy, just waiting for the impetus that will transform it into a riot. And then, when everyone is trashing cars and beating up each other, morals can be suspended as one loses oneself to the energy of the group.

 

I think it is much easier to get psyched up than it is to wind down. As a society, I think we tend towards carrying stress and anxiety quite easily, but find it hard to relax and hold onto peace. I have to say, as a young, testosterone-fuelled man, I love fighting. When there’s a fight about to happen, a grin breaks out in my heart (if not on my face), my blood pounds and I hope to God that someone tries to hit me so that I can get involved. Fortunately, above this hot blood is a cool head, which cherishes protecting my health and upholding peace.

 

I don’t really know where I’m going with this. Just some thoughts on environmental and social energy and how they interact with one’s own self.