Pissy Dances?

If for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, then it stands to reason that there is an equal and opposite to the “Happy Dance”. This must surely be the Pissy Dance, or the micro tantrum. That whining and stomping and throwing of limbs that happens when we don’t get our way, or things don’t go according to our meager hopes or plans. Now obviously this is not going to happen in a board room environment, but I have witnessed it in many social settings, on many levels, from the exasperated sigh, to the full on escalation of expressed displeasure. What is this? How does this fit into our sense of ceremony, celebration and ritual or the lack there of?

On a recent visit to a popular ice cream parlor to people watch and indulge a binge in the ultimate dairy drug experience, we observed that almost no one seemed happy or even cheerful. Lined up at the counter like junkies awaiting their fix, the patrons took their ice cream and sat in stoic silence, or stomped off into the rainy night. The only evident exception was the children but their post sugar excitement seemed frantic and manic, NOT happy, or cheerful, or joyous. What’s the deal? Where is the joy? Where is the savoring of the delicious treat? It just reinforces my opinion that dairy IS a drug, and not a very healthy or happy one at that. We have a micro tantrum when they don’t have the flavor of ice cream we want, or if the line is too long, but we are not made happy by the indulgence. I will have to look elsewhere to capture spontaneous joyousness in action.