If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. ~Buddha

High fiving will never go out of style. The act of slapping your hand against someone else's in a celebratory manner is so joyful, so simple, it’s exhilarating. I will even theorize that it wards off evil spirits. Much like one of those incredibly satisfying sneezes that seem to blast through every part of your being. The emotional feeling I attach with a high five is similar.


My sister and I have a contest with high fives. You should definitely ask us to demonstrate if the opportunity arises sometime. In February of this year, I won the contest for the first time EVER. I've been practicing.

Some people don't dig high fives. They ruin the excitement of the pre-high five moment with an attitude of a person who refuses to let out a good strong sneeze. "I don't high five" is a statement I've heard from people multitudes of times. "Don't you DARE high five those hooligans" is another one. I heard that just once.

My co-worker/friend Valerie and I were walking the streets of downtown Cincinnati one Wednesday night. We were traveling for work and had a night out for dinner and drinks after a particularly taxing day spent in front of computers, becoming experts in a training program.

As we navigated our way back to our hotel, I was celebrating the awesomeness of my athletic abilities. I had just ridden a mechanical bull for FOUR MINUTES. I could do ANYTHING. Nearly everyone at the fine establishment with the mechanical bull had returned my high fives with great enthusiasm.

We were walking down the quiet street when Valerie and I spotted three or four young men who did seem a bit hooligan-ish approaching us from the opposite direction. “Don’t you dare…” on repeat from Valerie. She may even have hissed at me, but that’s just a guess – not part of actual memory.

When the young men got within arms length, I thrust my arm into the sky festively in their direction. They totally knew what I was asking for and slapped my hand right back. Valerie and I kept moving at the same pace, but the young men stopped to ask us for some money. I let them know that they should find their own money.

Valerie reprimanded my high fiving behavior, but I pointed out to her that it was likely the celebratory gesture that allowed us to continue on our way without being mugged. Only a truly evil hooligan would mug a lady he just shared that kind of experience with.