Today, I am honored to have Lance Ekum from Jungle of Life writing about his experience choosing to dance his way through his days as part of The Levity Project’s Car Dancing Micromovement. Lance is a dear friend and such a great example of walking his talk….expanding his comfort zone to make a difference in his own life and with the hope of bringing more joy and light-heartedness to our world. Thanks for being here Lance!
photo credit: ooberayhay
“We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams.” ~ Anonymous
Preface
What is that dance in you?
Typical days. Consumed by deadlines. Commutes. Bills. Running errands. Playing family chaueffer.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the mundane of daily living.
Does it have to be that way, though? Does it, really, have to be that way?
What if….
We open ourselves up to the dance that is there within our hearts…that touches upon our soul.
It’s there.
And It Begins
An interesting thing has happened recently.
I have been working with Katie West and Ina Lukas, from The Levity Project, on a micro-movement.
Dancing in your car. Or…really, dancing on your way throughout your day (however that might happen).
And this is about so much more than just dancing through the moments of your day.
Think about this: Would it feel “normal” to dance in your car (or walking down the sidewalk, or navigating the aisles of your favorite grocery store) ? Or would this feel “weird”, “different”, “being seen”??
Why is it that we hold ourselves back?
There is a dance in each of us. The dance to paint. The dance to sing. The dance to be a mother. The dance to coach that little league team. The dance to join the local community band. The dance to dance. The dance of passion. Passion for whatever it is that makes our hearts sing!
To Dance
Car dancing.
In the garage…in the driveway…it feels so safe…to let my hair down. No one around…and it becomes so easy to be “me”…with wild abandon.
How about…
At a stoplight. Other cars around. Or walking down the street. Or waiting in line for the next cashier.
Exposed.
To be freely expressive. To “dance”. In that place where I wouldn’t normally dance. Not alone anymore.
Raise my arms. Move my body. Bop my head.
Surrounded by others…in the normalness of daily life.
And to dance?
To express joy, to let the music engulf me…is both strange and a challenge.
Why?
Because this is not the expected place to dance? Because others might *gasp* see me? Because no one else is doing this? Perhaps I have created some sort of unwritten standard in my head…one that says I should “fit in”, that there’s a place for everything (and this is not it), that it is easier to not risk embarrassment for the song in my heart.
The Cloud Is Lifted
Doing this thing. Dancing in public…in a non-dance setting. The car. The sidewalk. The neighborhood convenience store.
Doing it.
Dancing. In public.
Wow!
Getting beyond the fear, the wondering eyes, the thoughts in my head.
Everything seems suddenly lighter. The sky is brighter. Aggravations melt away. This mini-celebration does wonders! I feel like the world is “right” and “okay”. I see more of the humanity behind the masks of those around me. Life is good.
And Such Is Life
Car dancing. One small thing. One deeply moving experience.
Life.
Mine. Yours.
How am I living that life? How are you living that life?
There is a dance in each of us. In you. In me.
Something that sets our heart on fire. Something that makes us each dance for life.
What is that dance in you?
Let your dance out. Be you. That incredible, amazing you that sings and dances from your heart!
Join The Movement
The Levity Project is creating a compilation video of YOUR submitted car dancing moments! We have an amazing sampling from all over the world so far, young and old alike – getting “out there” and dancing. Creating change in themselves. And touching in some way, those who witness this dance of joy. Are you up for it?
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• Create a short video (10 – 20 seconds) of yourself (and others) car dancing (or dancing in whatever mode of transportation you use).
• Click here to submit your video. (Please submit all videos by Saturday, February 27, 2010)
• Contact us via the Contact Us page, with your name and location (to be included in the video).
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NOTE: The Levity Project video, of everyone together, will premiere in early March.
Join The Levity Project on FACEBOOK to join the vision and upcoming FUN!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Katie,
Thank you – to both you and Ina – for starting this idea…
The idea that we can all make the world a bit better…by simple acts. Like a moment in the car, sitting at a stoplight…dancing…
And it was your encouragement (or was it the promise of candy??) that got me “out there”, doing this, and connecting with that greater idea that this is much more than just a few seconds at a stoplight. This is about becoming comfortable in freely expressing ourselves, and in that same process – maybe touching something in another person, if even just for a fleeting moment – that being “out there” isn’t so scary after all.
Anyway – what you are doing here is really amazing and deeply good. So, it is an honor to share your space, and touch upon what this whole experience has meant for me.
Peace and many moments of joyful dancing,
Lance
My car dar would be a waltz:)
I car sing though, sometimes with the windows wide open and the music on LOUD and it always makes me happy even if other motorists wonder who the arm waving, head bobbing, gray haired lady rocking out to Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’ is (lol)
dance not dar, sorry!
Loved this piece from Lance, Katie – and I must say this car dancing is whole car dancing movement is really growing on me
I just love how you and Lance really bring people out of their comfort zone (in a good way) and raise them up to express their free and fun sides. We need that today so very much!
Thank you both again for making such an amazing difference out there and to so many people, and in such a fun way too!!!
Aurora,
And the waltz is a great dance…and it’s really what speaks to your soul…so that is perfect! Keep boppin’ your head, keep singing, and keep letting that voice in your heart shine!!
Evita,
This was so much fun!! And that’s what I saw in your video, too. And that’s what is so interesting…when I think about this and how it WAS definitely a stepping out of that comfort zone for me, too. Once I stepped out…and just did this…it WAS fun!! So, here I was fearing something that really ended up being such a good place to be. Evita, your words are touching and have very personal meaning for me. Thank you. Thank you for joining in on this. Thank you for seeing in this, the greater good that comes from this simple act. Thank you for really just being you…
I really love this post, and Lance, you captured it so perfectly: what is the fear or mundane routine that keeps us stuck in our skin? Why don’t we just bust right out and DANCE when the music moves us? Whether it’s the music on the radio, or the music of life?
I’ve shared this event with lots of people and some say, “Wow, that’s a great idea…” and it ends there. They’re intrigued, but it’s “not for them.” Those fears, that comfort in doing the same old-same old.
One person at a time, though, we can change how we move through this world. We can all dance joyfully about our days, and I thank all of you (Lance, Katie, Ina) for this great thing you’re doing.
I uploaded my video and I can’t wait to see how the whole project comes out. I’m no longer afraid to watching myself dance on the internet. I’m actually excited.
Megan,
There’s this very common theme I have received from this, too. That of “wow what a very cool idea”…and that’s it. What I’m drawn to in that, is this concept of how easy it is to have dreams, big ideas, “dance’s” in our heart…and how hard it can sometimes be to live them. And I know I have done that, too…held back what is “possible” in me, to stay with the status quo. And that’s what is so liberating about this car dancing, how it opened me up to see that – as good as it feels to car dance – there are still definitely moments of self-consciousness. When I can move beyond those, though…there is a world of possibility there. Megan, keep that beautiful dance alive in you…always…
Karl,
Great video Karl!! A common theme I have noticed has been the excitement shown by those who have done this, and how it has touched off a real joy in them! And that is so fun to see!! It’s coming…you will soon be out there dancing on the internet…woohoo!!!