Shake It Off

June 2022

They say to dance like no-one's watching. But what does that really mean? And why dance? Why not sing? And are you supposed to always do it, or do it just sometimes? Is there a purpose to it all or are you just supposed to let go and be yourself?

I used to always think that telling someone to "dance like no-one's watching" meant to just let go and be yourself, regardless of what it might look like. But what if it was more than just that? I mean, I'm me all the time. I don't change my personality for different situations. You get what you get with me. No false pretenses. No fake promises or facades. Just plain me. I know I'll get judged whether I'm my authentic self or not, so if I was to interpret the phase as dancing without judgement, then I'd tell you that's how I am every day.

But what if it was more like the phrase "love like you've never loved before" and you're supposed to really let go and immerse yourself in the act of doing it. Really dancing. Really shaking and moving your body. However you truly felt like it. Would that be a more accurate way of interpreting the phrase?

And what would happen if you took things one step further. What would happen if you looked at both those phases in terms of energy. Energy that moves around us and through us. Fast moving and slow moving energy, all mixed together. And then add dancing to it. What happens then?

Quite simply, we'd be moving the energy in our body if we got up and danced (or moved a lot in general). We'd shift and transform any stagnant or "dead" energy, into flowing and moving energy. In very physical terms, we'd get the blood flowing and pumping all throughout our body. We might even use muscles that don't normally get used (depending on how much you throw yourself about when your dancing). And this would be a good thing, wouldn't it?

In simple terms, yes. Putting on music and just feeling and dancing to it... moving all parts of your body, will not just "get the blood pumping", but as it moves and shakes up all the energy in and around you, it'l be generating feel good energy that'd uplift and raise your mood. And this relates to being able to "shake off" (in a very literal sense) any negative feelings.

So why am I writing about this today? Because I took some time out of my busy day, to stop, sit myself down at the piano, and just play some music... which lead to singing... which led to turning on some music and singing along... (which led to finally adjusting the settings on my soundbar,) which led to just dancing and grooving along. I didn't do it for too long (or maybe I did and just lost track of time), but I felt soooo good after it. I felt uplifted. I felt vibrant. I felt a fresh wave of energy wash over me and revitalise me. And it carried me through for hours.

It was a good reminder that time should be taken out of every day, to just stop and shake it off. Shake off any bad feelings. Shake off any stagnant energy. Shake it off any way you choose: Jump, dance, move, sing; Just get up a do it. You'll feel so much better because of it.