Let's dance forever

I feel the need to address a serious problem in our society today: there's not enough dancing.

And it needs to change—soon.

I love dancing. I never took dance, and I probably wouldn't have been very successful, because I'm not very good at organized and structured dance. I prefer to make the moves up as I go. But dancing doesn't have to look pretty to be beautiful—it simply needs to be natural.

I was on an elevator the other day with a mom and her young daughter (she looked maybe 4 or 5), and suddenly the girl burst into some spontaneous dancing when another woman's phone began ringing. The mom looked at me and apologized before telling her little girl to stop busting those moves (though she didn't use that wording). I told her there was no need to apologize and that the world needs more dancing. The little girl looked up at me and said, "Let's dance forever!"

She's got the right idea.

I think a lot of people don't dance much because of the fear of what people will think of them. But what does that matter? If everyone danced more, we wouldn't have time to analyze everyone else's dancing. Taylor Swift gets it, though. She frequently dances at awards shows to the live music, and people continue to ridicule her, and she continues not to care. You know why? Because it doesn't matter.

It was a really good song

I love the John Michael Montgomery song "Life's a Dance," because it's such a great analogy.

Life's a dance you learn as you go

Sometimes you lead; sometimes you follow

But don't worry about what you don't know

Life's a dance you learn as you go

In life, you don't always have structure, and you don't always know what your next move is. Sometimes you really just have to move along to the beat—and you may look completely off-beat—without caring about what the world outside is thinking. You may look like a flailing monkey, but those might be the perfect moves that make you you. You may step on your partner's toes when you're trying to two-step, but nobody is perfect, and the people who care about you aren't going to let your mistakes ruin a good song. Just dance.

Because dancing is BOLD.

Lee Ann Womack gets it, too, and she sang about it:

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance

Never settle for the path of least resistance

Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin'

Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth makin'

Don't let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter

When you come close to sellin' out, reconsider

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I HOPE YOU DANCE

It's easy to lean against the wall or stay in your chair and avoid the dance floor, but it takes courage to get out there and dance. And life needs more people choosing courage. Because you're going to come across opportunities in life when you have to make choices that let you either do things that are BOLD or play it safe and choose not to risk anything. But some risks are simply worth taking.

Like dancing your heart out.

I hope the little girl from the elevator continues to dance when she hears cell phones ring and whenever else the opportunity presents itself. I hope her mom learns from her precious daughter and follows her lead. I hope more people take the chance and stop caring about their images and just dance, instead.

You just might find courage you never knew you had in so many areas of life if you'd just dance. 

Let's dance forever.