Why we should all dance like an idiot
In my experience most people enjoy dancing, and those that don't are often too self conscious to allow themselves to let go in the way that true dancing requires. Dancing epitomises a fundamental human universal, we are embodied creatures, we aren't merely a brain sitting in a bowl going through life. We have an urge to interact with the world, play sports, create, act, etc. Our possession of a body influences our perception of the world, our actions often say more about us then our words and our physical emotions effect us more than our thoughts. All of this is linked with our desire for physical experiences in an increasingly verbally orientated society.
We often have an urge to dance to music, we sync our bodies with the rhythm of the song and move in time with the beat. This happens intuitively and nearly everyone is capable of doing it to some level of expertise. Dancing to a compelling song can often induce a sensation of timelessness, as well as an extreme level of grounding in the present moment, a phenomena we crave as humans. This is mostly because our lives are full of monotonous tasks that leave us void of enthusiasm. Not always, but some of the time. So dancing is an avenue in which we can all transcend our limited selves and FEEL something true. When truly optimised dancing places us between order and chaos, the existential location at which we feel most alive and captivated.
Another reason why dancing is clearly something fundamentally vital to humans is the amount of teenagers and young adults that are willing to queue for hours in the cold just to enter a building that facilitates this drive. Nightclubs are some of the most popular attractions for young people and even the most nihilistic teenager can enjoy dancing to a song that they love. We have all been teenagers at some point and are painfully aware of how difficult convincing us to do anything was, therefore anything youngsters voluntarily sacrifice their time for must be of significant import, or why else would they do it.
So the next time you are alone (or not, depending on how self conscious you are) in your room/house. Why not put on some music, let go of your inhibitions and dance like an idiot. You will struggle to find a person who does not feel somewhat psychologically, physically and in turn spiritually better as a result. Dancing is a human universal, it represents a meaning greater than that which our words can explain and revivifies ourselves on so many levels of our being.
We should all dance more.
Thank you as always,
BP