Weekly Photo Challenge: Joy

Encyclopedic owner’s manuals, FAQ’s, batteries not included, USB cables, check for updates, technical specs, from ages 5 and up, if you’ve gotten a present sometime in the last several years, you more than likely had to deal with one or more of these little qualifiers. There’s the instant joy of getting something, then there’s the “getting to know you” phase of fumbling and scratching of the head, then there’s the joy of mastering the thing (if you made it that far). The process isn’t really new. Most “things” need a bit of effort before you can really enjoy them (ever get a puppy?).

Simple joy is a rare thing though. Take a balloon. There’s very very little effort needed to get it to work, and, if you’re clever, you can get someone else to do the job. There’s the instant gratification, almost no learning curve, and the pure unadulterated joy of giving it its first light tap. This leads to more taps (or a tug if you’ve got it on a string), which leads to further tactile exploration and that rare and weird satisfaction in failed results. If you’ve got someone with you, you’ve got a game (Volleyballoon, “Don’t let it hit the ground!” are just a couple that come to mind). Tie it to a coffee cup. Draw a face on it. If it’s the plain old filled-by-human-lungs-no-helium variety, you can put it over a heating vent and watch it fly. If it is a helium filled wonder and you’re the devil-may-care type you can carefully untie it, inhale the contents, and for a brief time speak like a chipmunk. The possibilities are endless.

Of course, not everybody likes balloons. I often wonder why not (yet another reason why I’ve been denied entry into the “really good schools”). Were they clostraphobically smothered with balloons when they were young an vulnerable? Was there some revolting figure in their lives’ that had an open love affair with balloons? Or have they forgotten the notion of  simple joy, no instructions necessary.