OK, it's time for a happier post on here.
Start by watching this video. Trust me, the rest of this post won't make sense without it. It's got over 40 million views.
Matt is a guy (from Seattle, actually) who only knows one dance. It's a dorky dance. But, not caring what other people thought, he first did it in front of a camera in Asia. He put it up on YouTube, and before long his video was so popular that Stride Gum sponsored him to do it again--to travel the world and dance.
What I like about this video is that it's a guy doing his dance--his dorky dance, the only dance he knows--wherever he goes, no matter who's watching, no matter if anybody's doing it with him. He starts out doing it alone. He dances in marketplaces where everyone's looking at him funny and on empty beaches full of crabs. He dances in the rain, on a sand dune, on cliff ledges. But he doesn't stop dancing.
People are attracted to that courageous spirit--the choice to "dance like no one's watching." In the video, people flock to him. And then they start to imitate him. The single dancer is joined by a handful, then by a crowd, then by an entire flash mob. Every person gives it their own spin--Polish teenagers doing disco, kids from the Solomon Islands jumping around--but the original dancer's dauntless drive, his cheerfulness and confidence, is contagious all around the world.
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I don't know what it is you do to bless the world around you. It might be the thing you do for a living; it might not. It might just be your unique personality, your attitude. Whether you fix computers, write books, balance accounts, listen to hurting friends, jump rope with kids, or just face your day with a smile, keep doing it. God made you as you are, so being yourself is your best gift to share with the world. Dare to do your own dance, no matter how dorky or insignificant it feels, no matter who's watching, no matter if anyone at all is watching. That attitude is brave, and it's contagious. You never know whose life you are touching.
I LOVE Matt! I got the chance to dance with him when he visited the Google campus in Mt. View, CA. Very inspiring. :-D
ReplyDeleteWow, really?? That's amazing!
DeleteVery thoughtful and illuminating post, Alina! Being YOU in a world where others want you to be like everybody else definitely takes courage.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elaine! I know, for all our culture talks about nonconformity, when it comes down to it, it's just downright unpopular to be different...the important kind of different, that is.
DeleteMarvelous post. Great to watch that video. Thanks, very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cora! I know, doesn't that video just make you smile? I must have watched it 3 or 4 times yesterday :)
DeleteThis is just the most gorgeous treasure of a post, Alina! Your message is several steps past inspiring and reading this makes me feel like I've just opened a gift. Thank you, thank you, not only for the reminder that we are each uniquely special, but that we just have to keep dancing regardless of the audience--or lack of one.
ReplyDeleteLove the video. Matt is uber awesome :-D
Aw, thank you Barbara! I'm glad the reminder was timely :)
DeleteLove this post, Alina! It was just the thing I needed to see and read this morning. Thank you for sharing it. And I love that saying "Dance like no one is watching." One of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tami! I like the rest of the saying too: "...sing like no one's listening, live each day as if it were your last." (though there are some variations)
DeleteLovely post, Alina!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Rabia!
DeleteSometimes when I think of how many other people are out there writing and publishing it becomes almost overwhelming but then I think, but I've got some things I want to say, too. Sorta like this dance, and maybe just as dorky.
ReplyDeleteThat's an awesome connection, Liv. When I freak out about all the other amazing authors publishing out there, I like to come back to this quotation by C.S. Lewis:
Delete"No man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it." (from brainyquote.com)
I actually stumbled across you blog post because of the "Dance like no one is watching" picture. I actually wrote a blog post about Matt's newest video. I think you would enjoy it. In this video he tries to go to as many countries as possible.
ReplyDeletehttp://dancepundit.wordpress.com/2012/07/21/the-universality-of-dance/