To Dance

Last night as I sat observing various people at some club I have never been to before and I was thinking about individuals lives. The subject wasn't all of the sudden brought into my thought pattern last night however, really I think this has been something I've been thinking about for a while but the way things are illustrated when you are in a crowd of strangers just seems to bring something out in a different light. So as I sit drinking a cool beverage I am watching people dancing. Now dancing in general is a funny thing, and I'm not fully sure why people dance. Maybe everyone has seen the movie Footloose and have since determined that it is our God given right to dance. And those who want to restrict others from dancing are simply uptight legalistic individuals for whatever reason (most likely religious affiliation) have determined dancing is a terrible social interaction. So bad to the point where it is an inexcusable action which should be ban before everyone in the world is dancing and instilling poor values into our young peoples lives. Or maybe people dance because they feel awkward standing around and aren't sure what to do with their arms so they start moving, followed by a little bounce in the knees and next thing you know dance is occurring. Either way, people were dancing last night. And no, they were not ballroom dancing, or any other type of dancing which has a syncopated movement coinciding with music. But rather it was more of a flailing of arms and legs in correspondence with whoever is closest to them, bumping and grinding as some would say.

So there were these people dancing, and I'm looking at them wondering why I am any different? I can tell you why I'm not out there dancing, which is part I feel uncomfortable doing so also because I didn't want to interact with someone I don't know. I have determined I'm a bit shy in situation like this, given the right situation I will be outgoing but I'm much more of a sit back and observe type. But back to those dancing. I look at them and see lives behind the faces, people who worked possibly worked all week such as I did, or maybe they did nothing all week; but for whatever reason they have decided that for this moment in time they will be here. Out on the dancefloor. Listening to whatever song the DJ has decided upon and moving to the beat. Maybe in doing so they will forget about droning on of the workdays that recently passed at a midlevel desk job. Maybe they seek a companion for the evening, or maybe longer, to feel the closeness of someone. To feel loved. Maybe they are sad, and they are literally dancing their blues away. For what ever reason people choose it falls right in the middle of a life they are moving within. A life full of plans. Dreams. Hopes. Realities. Hurt. Every one of them dancing has reasons.

There are so many faces that I will never know, but yet we share the same space. Whether it be dancing in the same place, or sitting in the same room as someone else, every single person I am around is different. Everyone has emotions and logic behind what they are doing, and consequentially choose to live in various manners to engage with what they believe has value. I've had conversations with some people who don't believe that their actions have anything to do with what they believe and how they plan to live their lives. But rather their actions are meaningless sways of the moment that they happen to find themselves in. I'm not sure I buy this idea of how life fits together, a bunch of random moments that just happen because. I'm more of the train of thought that things happen for reasons. There is logic behind pretty much everything. Like for me, I have my logic behind why I was not out there dancing last night, and that is because I don't find any value in it. But rather I have more value in observing those who have chosen a different path and have some value in being out there to dance. And as I previously mentioned, each individual has their own reason as to why. This is where I'm not quite perplexed, but amazed at the values other people have. Regardless of whether or not I share the same values, I am amazed at how each individual copes with the world around them; with how they choose to live their lives, and the consequent interactions that come because of this. And the excuses they will come up with as to why they do what they do if they are ever questioned. People become very uncomfortable when you start asking questions I've determined. Sometimes they even feel threatened. Sometimes it is to the extent that they will lie to cover up the situation. This is another area where I am baffled. Why do people feel the necessity to cover up how they live? It seems that life would be a lot more pleasant if people lived in a manner they were proud of to where they wouldn't feel any necessity to lie and cover up what they do when others may not be around. If one chooses to dance, let them dance, but they should not be ashamed of dancing or pretend as if they were not. They may not be able to give you a better answer than I just wanted to dance, but that does not void them having a reason for dancing. Rather it is because they may not be able to understand why they are doing it, but from a different perspective it all makes sense. Sometimes it's the hardest to understand why you do something while you are the one doing it, because you can only see in the perspective influenced by your own values which while known to some extent by each individual, sometimes are expressed self-consciously and are completely unknown to this person. Life is so complex, and so is dancing.