Dancing King?

I couldn't not share this footage of one of the gorillas that I visit at the zoo doing a little bit of break dancing!

Dance

The spring weather, and something about this particular day, about the atmosphere I'm sensing is making me want to dance.

Except I'm a terrible dancer, and horribly self-concious, so I just kind of dance inside, with a smile on my face.

I was thinking about dancing last week at the conference I was at.

There was definitely a lot of dancing going on.

But even there, busting loose is harder than it looks to achieve.

Unless you're holding a baby.  I think something about my conservative upbringing made it totally okay to dance and be silly if you're holding a baby, or the hands of a toddler perhaps.  Because then you're not just dancing for your enjoyment, you're spreading the wealth.

I have a favorite memory of being at a conference with Jason Upton, and he began playing a song he'd written for his children.  A fun song, designed to make you just wanna hop up and move around a little. 

I was sitting on the floor at the back of the room, with three little kids all around me.

It's a memory I cherish, dancing and singing with them in the back of the church.  3 special kids that I love.

I was thinking about that today as happy music played, and the sun crept through my office window, and something in the atmosphere made me want to dance.

Dancing Away Mental Illness

I found this article on the usage of the tango as part of a treatment plan for various mental illnesses to be quite fascinating.

Twirling skirts, revisted

Just over a year ago, I wrote this post. "Trees, Twirling Skirts and Mental Health".

It is probably the post that brings the most people (who aren't friends or regular readers) to my blog. At least two or three times a week it pops up as the post that flagged something in a google search.

I bought the twirling skirt I'd been dreaming of on the weekend.

And, yesterday, in a few spots, I twirled.

I'm still waiting for the freedom promised in that original image of twirling to arrive. But yesterday, as a prayer for mercy and freedom, for myself and some dear friends, I stepped into a mountain clearing, peeled off my shoes and socks, and spun barefoot around and around and around.

My roommate and I were talking about the missionary Eric Liddell (made famous in the movie "Chariots of Fire") as we drove to the mountains yesterday. Liddell's sister was quite critical of his passion for running. She felt it was time wasted - not used in ministry. His response? "When I run, I feel God's pleasure."

Yesterday I stood in the sun in a mountain clearing, and later in the setting sun on the bank of my favorite creek, and I spun.

I felt God's pleasure.

Need to Breathe

Years ago my family babysat a little boy, who, no matter what season of the year, would sit himself down the second he came into our house, and peel off both his shoes and his socks. He was maybe three years old at the time.

When you asked him why he was taking his socks off, and not just his shoes, he'd answer matter-of-factly, "My feet need to breathe."

I think of him every summer, when flip-flop or barefoot weather finally arrives. I live without socks and shoes for as much of every summer as possible. (My feet need to breathe.)

These are my feet "breathing" after dancing barefoot in a clearing in the mountains yesterday.