No 21 Changing Lives through Dancing
By David Earl Woodbury
Friday, May 20, 2016
Laughter is a Medicine!
“Gentlemen, why don’t you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I did not laugh, I should die.”
– Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) 16th President of the United States
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) American Poet and Essayist
This Sunday is the first inaugural Sand and Sea Ball! We are raising money for the ballroom and music classes of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Our gala at the beautiful Loews Hotel includes complimentary valet parking and wine bar. We have cocktails, sit down dinner, music from the youth quartet, SAMOHI Jazz Band, and the Gold Medal youth winners dancing during dinner. We will end the evening with a two hour Arthur Murray Dance Party!
“No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work.” – Mother Teresa (1910 – 1997)
Well, today I have a smile and a laugh in my heart and a spring in my step. (My right knee just went out yesterday. Couldn’t walk on it a day ago. I’m still dancing and it’s getting better. It’s heck getting older. Knee or no knee, the show must go on!) I have done my work and kept faith and hope, all brought on by the vision and dream of dancing for kids.
“Happiness is like a cat. If you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you. It will never come. But if you pay no attention to it and go about your business, you’ll find it rubbing up against your legs and jumping into your lap.”
– Dr. William J. Bennett (1943) American Author and Educator
My Co-chair, Beth Hansler, and the executive director of the SMMEF, Linda Greenberg, have been my heroes. They have keep the fire burning and hope for our event alive. We began without a single sponsor, and changed the date twice! Beth is my dream maker and director of the Sand and Sea Ball.
Happiness has not been in my vocabulary for a year. It has been vision, belief, focus, hard work, working together, and faith. Fulfillment has been a better state of mind for me. I would not trade a single moment of this adventure to our first Sand and Sea Ball. I have learned a lot about people, non-profit, and myself. I have learned that I can’t do it all. It takes a great team, and we had a very small team of dedicated volunteers.
“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is a beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is life, fight for it!” – Mother Teresa (1910 – 1997) Albanian Missionary
My last few years of my life has been many dreams realized. And yes, there has been a great price to pay. There have been many ups and downs, and still challenges ahead. But the fulfillment of following a dream has been wonderful. And Yes, I have laughed a lot in the past year (did I mentions the sleepless nights as well?).
“No man who has once heartily and wholly laughed can be altogether irreclaimably bad.” – Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish Writer
Give this a try. If you are not happy, grab a hold of a dream, a vision a hope, and make it come alive in your life. Throw caution to the wind and move forward with a good team around you. They’ll keep your feet firmly grounded and make sure you stay on track. Keep a smile on your face, hope in your heart, and have a good laugh several times a day!
Happy Dancing,
David Woodbury
DavidEarlWoodbury@gmail.com (email me if you like my blogs!)