Euphoria – a feeling of intense excitement or happiness
synonyms – elation, ecstasy, delight, glee, excitement, jubilation
Don’t underestimate the power of a little table tennis. I recently had someone who had just completed their third lesson say as they went out the door, “I’m so happy! I’m so happy!” I expect students to enjoy training, but I was a little surprised by this level of euphoria. I don’t foresee a ton of trophies or prize money in her future. She is really just now showing some consistency with the most basic strokes, but she’s really happy. I don’t think all table tennis players are enjoying their sport this much. If you play a lot, you tend to take the joy of table tennis for granted. Even if players aren’t walking around in a state of ecstasy all the time, for many, their time playing remains the highlight of the week. Most of us have ups and downs with our table tennis experiences. The downs are particularly frustrating, because of the memories of how great it is when everything is going right. Euphoria is elusive. It is more than just being happy. To really feel euphoria may require all the stars aligning perfectly. There are those moments in sport when breakthroughs occur, obstacles are overcome, and hard work pays off. The actual feeling of excitement can linger, even as the stars change their alignment. These times will be the highlights, the mountaintop experiences. Euphoric moments happen in table tennis, but mountaintop experiences never happen until you’ve climbed a mountain.
