When no one was looking, I started to dance and sing.
My moves resembled the thrashings of an animal in pain, my singing sounded equally painful.
My inner critic was telling me this was highly im-proper behavior, my inner child was having fun.I was smiling.
Actually, I was laughing. At myself.
A Good Kind of Crazy
I was acting and feeling a good kind of crazy, exercising the body, brain and soul.
If my granddaughters had been present, they would have joined right in, because, for them, this kind of behavior isn’t crazy at all. For them this is normal behavior, proper behavior. For them this is play.
Giggles, smiles, jerky, limber moves.
Jumping-on-the-bed behavior, tossing-a-ball-in-the-house behavior, slamming doors and striking-pots-and-pans-with-wooden-spoons behavior, running-outdoors-barefoot behavior, screaming-at-the-top-of-the-lungs behavior.
NORMAL STUFF.
PLAY.
Lessons in Proper Behavior
Adults have turned fun into weird, exercise into working out, testing one’s lungs into noise and play into bad behavior.
I remember telling my granddaughters one day that I didn’t know how to play.
“We’ll teach you,” they said, clapping their hands and leaping up in anticipation.
The idiom, “You can’t teach an old dog, new tricks,” sprang into my mind.
To me, their idea of play sounded like a lot of work. Instead, I should have looked at it as a spiritual tool. A…
Gateway to Vitality
In her article “The Importance of Play in Adults“, certified family life educator, Julie Baumgardner, wrote:
“According to the National Institute, play is the gateway to vitality. By its nature it is uniquely and intrinsically rewarding. It generates optimism, seeks out novelty, makes perseverance fun, leads to mastery, gives the immune system a bounce, fosters empathy and promotes a sense of belonging and community. Each of these play by-products are indices of personal health, and their shortage predicts impending health problems and personal fragility.”
Guess that means adults need some lessons in PROPER BEHAVIOR.
As always, thanks for stopping by,
I love this post. To have fun is such a big part of living and in our busy lives we seem to forget that. We’re so busy connecting to our phones, computers, and televisions we forget the real fun in life is movement. Great post as usual.
Margaret, I too dance around the house! Thanks for pointing out it is perfectly okay! Nice, crisp blog site 🙂
I LOVE this post, Margaret. The sense of play is so important and so often missing in our adult lives. My grandkids are always asking me to play, and I don’t do it nearly often enough. I’m going to make myself do it more often. Thanks for the reminder. Now go dance or skip or play a board game. I’m going to be doing a puzzle.
Hi Lee. That’s when it’s good to have children around to remind us. Though they like phones, computers, and tv, you can’t keep them still for long. They definitely know how to play and, as a result, live.
I can visualize you dancing, Elaine, especially between writing your novels. We authors, especially, need to get out of the chair and on our feet.
Hi Rosi. It’s too bad the grandkids have to give us a guilt trip to get us playing. I plan on dancing this afternoon, since it’s too wet to go for a walk on the muddy roads outside. Enjoy your puzzle!
Your picture at the beginning of your article was a real surprize. I liked it very much. Not only colorful but fun and made me think of my grandson who loves to dance for me while playing music on his grandfather’s radio. Grown-ups should take lessons from the young.
Hi Dorothy, the picture is an attention grabber all right. I chose it for that reason. It also makes me want to dance. And yes, we can definitely take lessons from the young.
Hi Margaret,
This reminded me so wonderfully of one of my favorite essays “So What’s So Bad about Being So-So?” by Lisa Wilson Strick.
It’s a challenge for most adults to ignore the social standard and simply enjoy themselves. Especially if the enjoyment comes from child-like behavior or awkwardness.
Here’s to more carefree dancing!
Hi Shawn. I’ll have to look up Lisa’s essay. It sounds like a keeper. I was thinking of inviting myself to my granddaughters’ next visit to the skating rink, where I used to skate as a kid. I’m sure we’d all have a blast–that is, if I live through it.
Margaret,
This is a wonderful message, especially for us writers who sit in front of a computer all day and tie ourselves in knots. I remember as a teenager dancing with abandon in my parent’s living room. Me, the girl with two left feet. Even today, I dance my heart out to Carmina Burana, and I still have two left feet. Thanks, Margaret.
Hi Jo. The nice thing about dancing is that you can do it – at least in private – with two left feet. Hey, I need to check out Carmina Burana. Good, crazy dancing music is welcome in my house.
Our lives are so full we eat right, exercise, learn but we forget to have fun. We need to laugh, sing, dance and enjoy our lives on this journey we call life. Thank you for the reminder! When I visit our Lakehouse with girlfriends we do just that! We dance, we sing, we arm wrestle and leg wrestle and eat appetizers for dinner. We are free to be ourselves and love it.
Hi Theresa. Here, here for the lakehouse. And for girlfriends who are also accomplices in play.
Hi – I never really thought about play as a “spiritual tool” but I think you’re exactly right. It makes us smile which is also one of the most beneficial physical things we can do, so why wouldn’t it impact us spiritually as well? Good post!
Hi Amy. We often think that just because we call something spiritual, it has to be difficult and serious, but play, meditation, and expressions of joy and gratitude are easy and fun. The best kind of spiritual tools around.
Love this, Margaret! I needed this reminder, and it was stated in a way that made it entirely plausible that I will be dancing and singing myself on the morrow…
Hi Marianne. I can see you dancing and singing now. Enjoy!
Oh yeah baby! I love to play! I need this lesson today to remind me how to dance!!!!
Hi Jodi. And to dance – and play – while others are watching would be a real challenge. Oh well, small steps at a time. Thanks for stopping by.