Hula-Dancer Pilgrim Girl

I pass time in the afternoon gazing out of my office window jealous of the folks enjoying the beautiful temperatures at the park across the street. Today an odd girl caught my eye, yes I am a people watcher. She wore a jersey knit brown dress that came down to about her knees with a white shirt underneath. Honestly, I thought she sort of resembled a pilgrim, but an adorable little awkward pilgrim. Her hair was long brown and frizzy, the only thing taming it were little silver berets at her ears. She must have been in her 20’s, though her humble appearance made it hard to tell an exact age from my vantage point. She took up post in the middle of the park and it was then I noticed she had something in her hand, a bright orange hula-hoop.

Now she really had my attention. She began to dance, using the hula-hoop as this orbiting prop. Around and around she danced sometimes almost gracefully, but honestly though her dance moves lacked, her hula-hoop skill was impressive. She tossed it, danced through it, ran it up the length of her body, and many other gymnastic type tricks. I was mesmerized. In part by her “mad skill”, but mostly by her free spirit. People stopped and just gawked at her. Some pointed and laughed, while others stopped and took pictures to probably post on YouTube. Take a look there you might see my little pilgrim. Still despite all the eyes laughing at her, she just kept hula-dancing.

So it got me to thinking, how much do we hold back because we are afraid of what others will think? How many dreams do we suppress to avoid the risk that someone will call us a fool? When did the world become so darn uptight? It’s like we all walk around so business minded, all trying to fit into this cookie cutter mold that someone said was the way we are “supposed” to be. I say, forget the little gingerbread people, it’s time to become more like hula-dancing pilgrim girl. Forget what people think, quit walking around so serious, and start living a little bit. We did it when we were kids. We laughed, we played, we smiled, just because we aren’t six anymore doesn’t mean the play has to stop. So Gossipers I present to you the free spirit challenge. Are you ready?

I say tomorrow we all play a game, lets play tag. Play in the office or while you are out running errands, just start a game of tag. You remember this game, touch the person next to you and shout “Your it”. Then jog away because you don’t want to be it again. See how many people join you. Can you imagine a grocery store full of people playing tag and laughing? Seriously buying cereal and milk has never been so fun. If public tag isn’t your cup o tea, how about arrange a huge game of hide and go seek. Call up all your friends for a Saturday night hide and go seek game, they will be shocked, but I guarantee they’ll come. Embrace the inner free spirit in you.

So play a little bit, dance to your car after work, and tell a knock knock joke to the next person you talk to. What could it hurt? We could all learn a lot about life from the pilgrim hula-dancer. Forget what people will think and do what makes you happy. Live for your, because if you don’t put yourself first no one else is going to. Sing at the top of your lungs, dance till your body hurts, and laugh until you cry. Have you embraced your inner pilgrim hula-dancer today