“The world makes up for all its follies and injustices by being damnably sentimental”
~~Thomas Henry Huxley


The first time I saw the video below, I dismissed it based on the saccharin nature of "glee" productions and Toto combined. I received it again the other day, on it's second or third circuit of the viral email world, but this time viewing it brought an unexpected rush of sentimentality.  I remembered an experience during my first time at camp which snowballed into memories from paddling which spawned this post that is so saccharin and sentimental you'll get a toothache just reading it.

The memory it sparked is from when my sister and I were sent to church camp. At 12, it was my first opportunity to be free of an overprotective and controlling mother. The church stuff was secondary and most of our time was spent outside. OUTSIDE!!  Canoeing, orienteering, swimming,  soccer, hiking, running, campfires! It was a candy store of new experiences and I loved it!
One night after dinner, the entire camp of 100 or so gathered in the lodge for a "pow wow". We sang songs, performed skits and fidgeted through the director's god talk.
At the end, one of our favourite counsellors (a laid back, long-haired, hippy-type) got up and turned out the lights. "We're going to create a rainstorm," he said, "using only our hands and feet." He insisted it would be exactly like the real thing but only if everyone invested in the idea and worked together. We would be amazed at what we created. Together. He promised.
As babies of the technology age and cynical tweens, my cabin-mates and I mouthed yeah rights at each other. How could you recreate such a BIG thing, a GOD thing, without masses of technical instruments and playback devices? Not possible!

Maybe you've done the rainstorm team building exercise before or heard of it. Either way you'll see the method of re-creation when you play the vid. It is stunning in it's simplicity.

I was floored by it. In that first brush of 100 pairs of hands my cynicism evaporated. We were creating a rainstorm. By the time we were bouncing off the wood floors as a counsellor strobed the overhead lights, we were the storm! It was indescribable, intoxicating. As we walked back to our cabins, I was quietly aware that some vital synthesis was taking place in my psyche.

It wasn't until my second viewing of this performance that I felt the thrum of a chord struck. My overwhelming attraction to paddling when I first tried it was no coincidence. The sense of success and exhilaration in the boat, when everyone's doing the right thing at the right time, is the same one I felt the night of the rainstorm.

I'm not sentimental in my everyday life but I've been so lucky in finding the sport, the club, the coaches, the teammates and crews I've been part of, that when it comes to paddling I'm a huge marshmallow. When you spend years with one group of people, honing your technique, skill set and timing, then use that in performances that are near-perfection, sentimentality is unavoidable. No surprise that team athletes relive past events, races, regattas and tours, stay in touch and support each other long after their glory days are over. It's when I think of our times together that things like this performance of Toto's Africa can bring my cynical and sarcastic self to its knees.

When you play the video, watch the individual faces, especially as the audience reacts to the first crack of thunder...they're not even a minute into the piece and each performer's contribution has been validated. They're aware of it's success, that it couldn't have happened without them. Front row, back row, in front of or to one side of the group - each performer is invested and aware of the whole, whether they're carrying the main melody or doo doo doohing in an undertone. They're equals and unselfconscious in the execution of their job. As they gain momentum, they increase in stature, they shine. Check out the percussionist who is so rocking this number.

I identify with them. With the look on their faces. Don't you?  While accepting their applause, a performer in the back row pats his neighbour on the back and she turns, nods her head in satisfaction. We nailed this.
Haven't you felt that partnership? Winning a race, finishing a project, having a baby? We made this! What a team!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Look for something from your life in this and take a moment to wallow in it.

Sentimental? Damn right.