Friday Introspection Prompt #26

This week I feel inspired to connect to joy, especially with what is going on in the world. So here is a video from Thoraya youtube channel inviting people to dance. This triggered a couple of reflections that I am sharing below.

The first thing is that given an opportunity people will dance. It feels like such a primal and essential part of our humanity across cultures and ages. Music moves us, and whether we feel shy, or inadequate, or self conscious there is still this intrinsic urge to move our bodies to the rhythm of life. That actually makes me happy. Watching, and even just thinking of people dancing brings me joy. In that clip, you see such a diversity of people expressing themselves in their own way, and so many smiles, and hugs, laughter and communion. I want to see more of that every day on the news!!!

The second thing is more of an introspection. When do I create this space for myself to dance? When in London (in my youth) I used to go out dancing a lot, which was such a release of energy, I would feel tired at the end of the night, but the good kind of tired, the kind you feel because you have channeled so much joy through your body that you feel so relaxed and you need rest. And I also wondered, when and where is there enough psychological and emotional safety so that I feel I can spontaneously dance and express myself without fear of judgement? In our society, having fun, letting loose is not often seen as a desirable quality, and I wonder: why so serious? Why do we have to control ourselves all the time and present a polished image to the world? What are we scared of? Anyway, I should stop here or I will again plunge into a very deep rabbit hole. So I will leave you with two things: some introspection questions and some news… Keep on reading.

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When was the last time you danced? What would happen if you just put some music on and gave yourself permission to enjoy your body even just for 3 minutes?

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