In the nation’s capital, you can easily find beautiful, smart, powerful, or rich people; many look awesome together. While it is nice to see two people share a quiet moment, and interesting to watch them immersed in deep conversations or serious discussions, I find nothing more charming than people laughing together. There is something so special about it, perhaps because I don’t see it often. At an autumn after-hour event, watching a panorama of human interactions in the courtyard of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden through the museum’s wide glass window, I am captivated by the sight of two couples who are talking and laughing. When people laugh genuinely together, they seem to be free from too much consideration of self; the space around them is filled with light, promising hope.
An afterthought: could we use the number of times people laugh to measure well-being? After all, what’s the point of dancing in darkness?
