Shake it.

I love to dance. No, I am not a trained dancer of any sort. When I say dance, I mean to move your body in a way that is pleasing to you - in a way that brings you joy. I take part in a dance class (GROOVE Method) every week that allows me the freedom to express what I want how I want through movement.....more on that class later....but I wanted to share with everyone this video I stumbled across.

THIS is why I dance. THIS guy (guy, I know...who knew???) gets it. I applaud him....and am slightly jealous that he got to do this....Hey, Matt, next time bring me along.

Here is an explanation he provided for this video and his project:
What are these humans doing? Dancing. Many humans on Earth exhibit periods of happiness, and one method of displaying happiness is dancing. Happiness and dancing transcend political boundaries and occur in practically every human society.  Matt Harding traveled through many nations on Earth, planned on dancing, and filmed the result. The  video, the latest in a series of similar videos, is perhaps a dramatic example that humans from all over planet Earth feel a common bond as part of a single species. Happiness is frequently contagious -- few people are able to watch this video without smiling.

good morning....

When I started this blog I had all the best intentions. I thought that by committing to a blog I would create some space for me to have, well, me time. It worked for awhile there. I was at home on maternity leave with my second child, and I had everything in check.

But then, work happened.

I quickly became overwhelmed with all the responsibilities I carried - wife, mother, professional, a human being. I felt like I was drowning. I couldn't get on top of anything. I felt frantic all the time. I needed to drop something...but what! My husband needed me, my kids needed me, my job needed me (and well to be honest, I needed it too $$). What I dropped without even making a conscious choice was myself. I dropped myself as a woman, as a human being.

I swiftly put aside all the things that made me, me. I stopped running, I stopped riding horses, I stopped reading, I stopped any creative outlet I was keen on at the moment (it rotates...I'm a fickle artist), I stopped writing. I stopped dreaming. I stopped being me. I lost myself.

Almost exactly one year later, I am sitting here with the profound realization of how important I am in all of this chaos called everyday life. If I have lost myself, then what am I giving to my husband, children, and career? I am a shell of a former me. And it is me that they all need.

Changes must happen. I need to be brave and do what is right for me so that I can be something to all of them, not just a ghost. I have had an awakening of sorts. Somewhere deep down, my former Self mustered enough energy to call out and say "you have forgotten about me" and thankfully I heard it. I need to let that voice grow stronger and be heard by not only myself, but others in my life as well.

I am grateful that I have recognized this now, and not 30 years from now - waking up in a cold sweat of regret. So now that I have recognized it, let's do something about it.

I will start by saying Good Morning after this awakening.... and a good morning it will be.....