happy valentine's day

I got the latest issue of Adbusters today, and there was an interesting article about our human need for social networks, be it friends, family, what have you. It talks about the health benefits that researchers uncovered. It's not exactly news that having friends and loved ones makes us feel better, or that our thoughts and emotions are affected by the people around us. The scientific rationale is that there are "mirror neurons":

Neurosciences Giacomo Rizzolatti and his colleagues from the University of Parma first came across mirror neurons in the eighties while studying the brain activity of macaque monkeys. Rizzolatti found that parts of a monkey’s brain would light up when observing the actions of another monkey: more than simply responding to stimuli, the activity of the monkey’s brain would start to mirror that of the other monkey, as if it were performing those actions itself.

This discovery was like a flashlight shining down on the dark caverns of the human psyche, illuminating enigmas such as empathy, imitation, and shared experience. It was also the evidence that explained why people who are surrounded by friends seem to live longer and bounce back faster from setbacks than those who are socially isolated.

How much of this applies to our need for performance art? Whether it's live music, dance, theatre, I think that our mirror neurons would be stimulated by those. I think of how my mother always said people need to be uplifted. That sentiment is sneered at these days (and sometimes rightfully so, I'll admit), but applying the idea of mirror neurons to art does bolster my mother's assertion. In Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde has Lord Henry say, "It is not good for one's morals to see bad acting." But does this extend to cinema or painting? Reality TV, commercials, sensationalist news, pop music? It would explain a lot and it's certainly worthy of study.

The Buddha always exhorted his followers to seek good people and avoid bad ones. I've been particularly fortunate with my family and friends, and fortunate beyond imagining in finding my husband.