Sometimes courage is choosing not to jump

Watch this. I find it so fascinating. The video shows a dozen or so people at the top of a ten metre diving tower deciding whether to jump.

The film documents a surprising and poignant range of human emotions: fear, courage, independence, connection. I laughed out loud several times while watching it.

It also captures an interesting glimpse of dominant masculinity. While watching the video with a group of people, I noticed that laughter occurred when men chose not to jump. It was a kind of laughing at, rather than other moments when laughter occurred that were more about laughter with.

And it makes me wonder, when do we laugh? When I watched it alone I laughed at very different places than some people in the group. Does our laughter contribute to shame? Or is our laughter a way of relating to the struggle. I want more of the latter.

https://nyti.ms/2jRsCub