Some Christmas beauty

This has been making the rounds, but I first saw it over at Lynn's, so I'm going to give her credit for introducing me to this. Essentially, the USAF band does a "flash mob" at the Air and Space Museum.

Now, there are two kinds of "flash mobs" out there (though perhaps the one terminology is only common in Chicago-area media; I have most heard of it when up visiting family). The two kinds I think capture the two poles of human nature: the selfish and base, and selfless and joyful.

The kind of flash mob I don't like to think about is a group of thugs, often older teenagers, who barrel into a store and shoplift large quantities of items, knocking over and trampling honest patrons in their wake. Essentially it's a form of criminal terrorism, I think - maybe "terrorism" is a bit of a strong word, but I can imagine being in the middle of one of those occurrences would be terrifying.

However, the second - and I think more common - usage of the term is when a group of people arrange to meet in some public area to sing, or dance, or play music - to do something that brings them happiness and hopefully brings joy to the people around them (In the video, look at the expressions of some of the people.)

I love that kind of flash mob. To me, it represents something very good - people wanting to make others' lives better, to share their talent with those around them (And I am sure some flash mobs have an underlying faith thought - that they are doing this for God as much as for the people around them). Granted, some are to advertise something (I think this one is to promote the USAF band Christmas concerns). But I still love them....the idea of a group of people slowly coming together, a few starting to play, others joining in (and how much practice that must take, to be able to do that smoothly!) and the music gradually swelling. I think I said once before that this is a little like my conception of Heaven.....that one person gets there but then as time passes they are joined by friends and family members and others they know and the chorus grows and strengthens....