Sunday Thought, February 22, 2015: Dance like There's Nobody Watching!

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,

Love like you'll never be hurt,

Sing like there's nobody listening,

And live like it's heaven on earth.”

-- William W. Purkey, author, educator

We had our Mardi Gras celebration in Pass Christian this past Sunday.  We pack our small town with thousands to watch the many floats.  This is one of several celebrations the community looks forward to throughout the year, and they take this one especially to heart with lots of beads and colorful floats, dress, and people.  Lots of people!  Lots of happy people!  People that were dancing in the streets, in their seats, and in the front of their businesses.  I have found that it doesn't take much to get these folks to cut loose, and why not?

These two gentlemen joined two women on the sidewalk for a bit of two-on-two line dancing and was anyone watching?  Nope.  There was the occasional glance, a smile, and even another couple of much younger girls than joined in momentarily.  Why didn't more people take notice?  Because everyone does it down here!  It just isn't that big of a deal.  The folks that get noticed would be the ones that do it well enough to compete on Dancing with the Stars.

What made this great for me is the fact they're both military veterans; one of them is a Marine and the other is Army.  This was of particular interest to me as an Air Force retiree, to catch Marine and Army grunts dancing... together.  But, isn't this what life is all about?  Aren't we supposed to relax and have fun occasionally?  Well, why can't we do it all the time?  Good question.  Why not?  Why can't we just walk down the street and have a moment of spontaneous dance?  Who would really care and, even if they did, why should you give a fig?  Better if they just joined in and made a spontaneous "mob dance" the new rave in the world.

Why don't we make the conscious attempt this Sunday, in church or downtown, to have a moment of dance and laughter?  Let's grab the partner next to us, the wife, stranger, or friend, and dance a little ditty just for the hell of it.  Let's throw caution to the wind and make ourselves look silly for the briefest of moments.  Who knows, maybe we'll like it and make it a constant part of our lives.  How great would that be?  And, if the children see the adults losing control, in a good way, what possible harm would that do?  They might just grow up remembering a time when life was fun, even for just a moment.

Again, how great would that be?

Smile, and may God bless!

"I'm making the statement that we should all live life and have a laugh.  Nakedness is a thing where people take notice.  If you do it the right way, people laugh."

-- Mark Roberts (1921-2006), actor

Editor's Note:  

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It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth.  After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human.  God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.
  

Pastor Frank Anthony Villari

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of "The Path," the Congregation's official blogsite.