No 18 Changing Lives through Dancing
By David Earl Woodbury

Friday, May 5, 2017

Be The Change You Want To See In The World

I’m a high maintenance person. I’m either very happy, very sad, very peaceful, very upset, very productive or very blah! There is not too much grey area for me. As a Virgo of two Virgo parents, well, I’m perfect and I expect everyone and everything around me to be perfect. I can’t stand myself when I’m not perfect.

At 61, I now know that nothing and no one in this earthly realm is perfect. I’m not. I always want things to be better, and now I know the solution. I have to be the catalyst and I have to be the change I want to see. If something is not right, I have to start the change and be the energy to make something new happen.

The days of complaining and expecting someone else to pull up the slack are over for me. There is no one to go to. It’s me doing it or the highway. That’s OK, for now I have the heart of a leader. I’m finally fulling feeling the heart of my dad beating in side of me. Just don’t live for what you can get, but for the opportunities to give service to others. I wish I could just take a second and tell my dad that I now know why he was so happy giving service in so many ways.

“What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.” – Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) German Philosopher

Perhaps we are all destroyed in some small way every day. We all go through rough times. We go through times when we just don’t think we can make it. Today I tried to remember my dad and if he ever showed me his stress. He always had a good face on and kept his faith and his positive outlook on life. He was such a great example of service, cheerfulness, a happy heart, a good laugh, and a great leader. How I wish that today I could tell him how proud of him I am and that I’m becoming just like him. Just tell him how his example in my life has guided me and has changed me.

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”- Mark Twain (b: Samuel Langhorne Clemens) (1835 – 1910) American Author and Humorist

Perhaps Mr. Woodbury had the great courage to master his fear. I know fear was present, for I was a handful in my early years. All I can remember is that dad was there for me. When my partner Jim died, dad was the strongest for me. It was as if he had lost a son. In a way, he had. I’ll never forget his sorrow over Jim’s passing, his compassion, his love for me, and his support as I struggled with grief. I visited daddy right after Jim passed, and that was right before daddy went home to be with mom. Two military funerals back-to-back. I guess I learned to face my grief and move forward.

Today, I have Mr. Woodbury’s spirit inside of me. That spirit tells me to lead, be the agent for change, and the optimism to make those changes happen. I know that I don’t know it all, in fact, I seem to know very little. But I can stand up, volunteer, become active, add my energy, and lead the way for others.

Here is a challenge: find someone who is down in the dumps. Find someone who is lost. Find someone who is crying because they are not getting enough in their lives and help them learn the magic of giving back to others. It is a recipe for success

Thank you for reading!

David Earl Woodbury

davidearlwoodbury@gmail.com

Keep on Dancing!