Emotion is not a thing like a pebble is a thing. It can’t be measured with a ruler or weighed on a scale. It can’t be seen by people other than those having the emotion itself. So, when we speak of emotions, we often speak in metaphors, such as when we refer to being crestfallen, as if our mood was a deflated cockscomb.
Another emotion that we describe metaphorically is ebullience. To be ebullient is to experience a kind of emotional stimulation that feels as if it is boiling over from within oneself, as water boils over the top of a cauldron hung above a fire.
An ebullient person acts with great energy in an unpredictable way, as if they have roiling currents of feeling within them, emerging here and there as great bubbles of enthusiasm. Bubbling ebullience can be exhibited with an energetic pace of talking or with flamboyant gestures combined with an optimistic outlook.
The word ebullience is derived from an ancient word for boiling, so whenever we call people ebullient, we are saying that they are boiling. We understand that there are no literal bubbles emerging from their bodies. We know that their body temperatures are well below the boiling point.
It’s a play on words. But then, every word is a play.
