Dance Like No One’s Watching

64 Arts
*this begins our rambling into the 3rd of the 64 Arts: dancing*

“We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.”
~Japanese Proverb

Have you ever caught yourself swaying to some music or tapping your feet or fingers without knowing it? That’s the power that music has over us.

But we spend most of our days so tightly wound (at least the average adult) that music, with all it’s power, can only affect a few small sections of us. When we’re stressed, even less. But when we’re happy, well-rested and really and truly enjoying life, music can compel our bodies to move more. Arms swing wide, shoulders rock, hips gyrate, feet move in time to the music.

We dance.

The title of this post comes from a familiar saw that boils down to: live life to it’s fullest. It’s about having the confidence to live your life your way.

Children dance with utter exuberance for life evident in every step, every movement of every limb, and with supreme joy etched across their faces.

Where does it say, then, that when we “grow up” that we lose that ability? Whether it’s because we learn there are “right” and “wrong” ways to dance or become disheartened by those who may be more talented than us or even just self-conscious about our bodies, our movements, our feelings–whatever it is, we lose that abandon.

If that proverb is true (and I think there’s something to it) then we’re going to look ridiculous one way or another. We’re going to stumble, we’re going to say the wrong thing, we may bump into a wall. We might even fall down.

Isn’t it better to do those things while smiling, laughing, moving in joy?