December 12, 2001
C. Mortimer

People seek out excitement. The enormous number of obvious examples available to prove this fact might lead you to believe that it isn't worth mentioning. Acknowledging that people do seek excitement, however, leads us nowhere towards understanding why that might be the case. And so I ask that you consider, very deliberately, the role of excitement and what, if anything, this physical and emotional response provides for the human psyche and anatomy, and the social and cultural endeavors of humankind.

Excitement: The state of being roused into action, or of having increased action; impulsion; agitation. A state of aroused or increased vital activity in an organism, or any of its organs or tissues.

Excitement feels good. To participate in an exciting event [even if that participation is simply passively watching an event unfold, as in professional sports or at the movie theater] provides the human body with a heightened level of sensory input. The result, is an increased alertness, and the physiological and emotional manifestations of "increased action; impulsion; [or] agitation."

When was the last time you did something exciting? This is not a trick question, nor will this essay provide any statistics as to the amount of excitement that is recommended by board certified physicians. It is merely a question to illustrate the basic human desire for excitement; a need just as particular as the need for food and water, and just as personal. Excitement is subjective; two people aren't any more likely to find the same things exciting, as they are to find the same foods delicious. If I tell you that a certain kind of food tastes good, you may disagree without my being wrong about my perception.

You probably remember something exciting that happened to you within the last week. But I assure you, in a few moments, you will remember something exciting that happened to within the last day; and as your mind circles around the mysticism of the benign, you will know that your body's desire and acquisition of excitement transcends your awareness of this constant consumption.

The smell of coffee in the morning, the beginning of a monotonous weekday routine; but the body will have none of this - it literally must be repressed not to render a chimera from the mundane. Plumes of fragrance mix with the air like smoke from a fire. The round orb of an orange rests lazily against a red-delicious apple. The color of the shadow in the space between them could be easily dismissed; but I assure you there are amazing colors in that crescent penumbra. The world is an extraordinarily exciting place.

The boxing match is now in the final round. Down by six points, the home team has the ball on their opponent's one yard line with only seconds to go in the game. The bases are loaded and no one is out. The star center gets an allyoop pass and seems to hang in mid air, approaching the rim with slow motion aerial acrobatics. Television provides immediate access to impersonal excitement; but that is no matter, the mind easily overcomes this intangible action. Two heavyweight fighters dancing around on a square blue mat, rendered trapezoidal by the wide angle lens of the camera. Muscles ripple as sweat flies from the point of contact between a glistening red glove and a soft contorted face. At the end of the round, you notice that you are clinching your fists. The world is an extraordinarily exciting place.

The warm, deep shadows cast by candlelight illuminate the human body in the most desirable way. As you watch the flames dancing in her eyes from across the table, your enraptured conversation is interrupted by a surge of electrical current generated between the flesh of your hands as they brush across one another; long fingers intertwined with long shadows. Distracted conversation continues until your hand gently meets the soft skin of her face, and then silence. Your heart beat surges, as you lean across the table to place your lips upon hers. The world is an extraordinarily exciting place.

Seven thousand miles from here there is a man standing in the dark. Five minutes ago he was thinking of his wife and child. He carries a picture of them in his pocket as he stares down the long barrel of a gun. One hundred yards away are an indeterminate number of other men waiting to try to kill him. He stands completely still, listening to his heart beating. A stream of salty perspiration runs down his cheek into the corner of his mouth, but he does not move to wipe his face. He stares silently into the dark. Fifteen seconds from now, he will be startled by a muzzle flash in the distance; even before he hears the report, he will instinctively squeeze the trigger of his rifle, automatically spraying a dozen metal rounds forward at three times the speed of sound. The world is an extraordinarily exciting place.

Excitement: The state of being roused into action, or of having increased action; impulsion; agitation. A state of aroused or increased vital activity in an organism, or any of its organs or tissues.

To engage in an exciting activity is to become excited yourself. Human beings recognize excitement in their own behavior, as well as in the behavior of others; human or otherwise. A dog's excitement in anticipation of a game of fetch is undeniable. The quickening pace of padded paws, tail wagging, and high pitch barks; all signs of "increased vital activity." If we believe that humans are distinguishable from "lower" animals by their capacity for reason, that we must conclude that the dog is incapable of developing a higher understanding of this repetitious behavior. However, what the dog is consistently capable of, perhaps even beyond the capacity of any human, is to hope that each time they return with the ball and drop it at their owner's feet, that there will be just one more toss. One more excited dash through the long blades of green grass, sending birds and grasshoppers scurrying as ears and tail bounce gracefully with each fluid stride. And yet to say that the dog repeats this behavior simply for the love of its owner is to miss the point entirely. The dog becomes excited and hopeful involuntarily; they are a slave to their reflex to engage the physical and emotional release that comes from the delightfully quickened pace of an otherwise benign day of lazy naps and gumming chew toys.

Optimism: A tendency to expect the best possible outcome or dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation.

As described in the above examples, the unconscious desire to seek excitement makes itself manifest in many ways, and throughout life there will be many lessons learned through calculated trial and error. Each time you run out to fetch the proverbial ball of life, you are bound to meet some sort of adversity; and though excitement leads you on each time, as it does the common canine, it is the human capacity for optimism that has the power to persuade you to believe that benefits will outweigh the risks. There are many moments in life when the cool logic of rational thought has no place, and here the dog, incapable of this "higher reason," has the advantage. Every now and then however, you will be fortunate enough to chance upon a person, who exudes a little of this profound "naiveté". These people, wield optimism like a weapon of mass artifice; they are "fools" for life, and there is much to be learned from their behavior.

At times, you can see this excitement just by observing this kind of person: The Optimist. But more likely, you become aware of their unique energy and vigilant alacrity while engaged in conversation. You find that the optimist exudes a genuine passion for both speaking and listening on the particular topic at hand. And more often than not the optimist will also apply, with equal measure, the same integrity to almost any subject at all. What makes the optimist different, what sets them off from the rest, is that their excitement is as obvious as it is contagious. Their presence heightens your own senses, and allows you to find in yourself a level of courage and desire that you did not know even existed.

These rare souls dedicate their lives to exploring the breadth of passion that comes with seeking a goal even when the probability of failure looms like an insurmountable peak. This is a result of having a unique perspective on life, and consistently finding amusement in the casual and the everyday. There is no event, object, or emotion too small for introspective analysis; under proper scrutiny, a pencil becomes a streamlined tool with the potential to produce both the sketches of Michelangelo and also the shaded numbered rectangles of a Lotto card. The passion with which these people engage the world around them makes their appearance both a bizarre enigma, as well as a refreshing reprieve from the monotony which is often perceived to be cloaking the seemingly "small" wonders of the modern world.

Often dismissed as "foolish", "naive", or "absentminded" the genius and the excitement of the true optimist, the true sapient human consciousness, is misunderstood and admonished more often than praised and revered. The higher consciousness available to the mind engaged in this critical confabulation has no obvious applicability in an empty value system where success is measured only with a dollar value. And yet for the elevation of the body and soul, there is no feat greater, no instant more precious, and no act more sensual than the complete surrender to the involuntary excitability of the mind.