All Together Now

I sat down with the intention of writing a completely different blog post today. It was going to be philosophical. Informative. But then life happened, and I found myself left with more raw feelings than wise words to share.

I got to spend last night at a concert. While concerts are my happy place, any event involving large crowds is always a toss-up for me. I get nervous, and often walk in already braced for the unpredictability that comes with large-scale gatherings, especially when we’re talking about a space as big as a football stadium.

As someone who’s been to a lot of concerts, I’ve learned that you never know what kind of fans you’re going to get. Some are pushy. Some are excitable and a bit over-obsessed. Some, if you’re lucky, are relaxed and friendly. It was a pleasant surprise to get to experience that third kind last night.

There was one particular moment that struck me. While we stood in the long line for the restroom during an intermission, I noticed a woman walking down the line handing something out. To be honest, I half expected her to be selling something, and was prepared to say “no thank you” when it was my turn. Then she handed me a small, red piece of paper with a heart on it.

Written on it were instructions to hold them up over our phone lights during two songs so that the stadium would be lit up with red lights. That was all. No catch. Just an invitation to participate in a sweet, shared gesture. This hit me deeply, and it took me a minute to pinpoint exactly why. It felt so rare, so simple, and so beautiful that someone thought to invite us—all 60,000 of us—to participate in something good.

And of course, we all came through. I watched the red lights spread across the stadium, connecting all of us strangers on a level deeper than the fact that we were all in the same space together. It made us smile. We hoped it would make the band smile. Sometimes we just need a reminder that people are good, and I didn’t realize how badly I needed one until that moment.

Life has been heavy lately, but last night felt lighter. We shined our red lights together. 60,000 of us sang the words “I am not afraid to keep on living”at the top of our lungs. And I felt a little piece of myself being glued back into place, thanks to those little red hearts.

*credit to the Jersey MCR Fan Project, who made this moment happen.