No 48 Changing Lives through Dancing
By David Earl Woodbury
Friday, December 5, 2014
Overcome Apathy with Enthusiasm
Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can be aroused
by two things: first, an idea which takes the imagination by storm;
and second, a definite, intelligible plan for carrying that idea into
action.– Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975)
I’m excited about life. I’m excited about dancing. I love our Arthur Murray Dance Center. I’m excited about serving at my parish. I’m excited about helping our staff and students and my partners. There is so much opportunity around me that I feel like I am about to explode when I think of what is possible around me.
Nothing is more endangered in the modern world than the powerful
combination of hard work toward meaningful goals joined with an
exuberant embrace of the present moment.– Tom Morris
Today, the expression “Hard Work” is often met with frowns. Those who scoff at diligent labor are often the ones who are successful from the labors of those who have come before them who gave their all, sacrificed and lived a focused life of goals and vision. There is nothing wrong with working very hard and achieving great goals in life! In fact, it is fun and very rewarding and full of excitement!
I think sometimes my enthusiasm is seen as childish to others. I love to laugh, cry, plan for the future and I always must have something to look forward to. I love every opportunity to celebrate something, especially when it involves dancing and lots of fun with others. It’s OK to be a little childish, to laugh a little and as my mom always said, “Keep a little song in your heart!”.
A childlike man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on
the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of
continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves
in the cocoon of middle aged habit and convention.– Aldous Huxley
The great man is he who does not lose his child’s heart.– Mencius (371-291 B.C.)
If I had to not be enthusiastic, I would bust a gut! I cannot be quiet. Life is exciting and fun. It is full of challenges, bends and twists in the road, and lots of challenges. This is not a dress rehearsal, this is the real thing. Be excited and enthusiastic. I have seen 80 year olds with more energy than some 20 year olds. The octogenarians have more to be happy about because they have made it for so many years.
Exercise: Count your blessings and list what you love the best in your life. Sit down with a cup of tea and just ponder on the good things in your life. Friends, family, health, security, ambition, ability, opportunity, faith, eagerness, natural abilities. List everything you can think of as a blessing and then close your eyes and rest in a moment of thankful peace. Try it; you’ll be glad you did.
When we are mindful of every nuance of our natural world, we finally
get the picture: that we are only given one dazzling moment of life
here on Earth, and we must stand before that reality both humbled and
elevated, subject to every law of our universe and grateful for our
brief but intrinsic participation with it. (From her biography of
naturalist Eustace Conway.)– Elizabeth Gilbert
David Woodbury
Next Week: Love the Holidays with Arthur Murray!