Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life? - Mary Oliver
Watched "So You Think You Can Dance?" last night with my mom. Can't call it a guilty pleasure, cuz I feel no shame at all. Just clarifying. Mom wasn't as into it as I was. It may have been the exhaustion. She's been increasingly tired and more easily tired out lately. She had a hard time keeping her eyes open during the show. But it may have also been the overabundance of poor dancing and depress-o stories (ppl who'd lost limbs, lost loved ones, overcame incredible odds - but were still dancing blah blah blah). At one point she opened her sleepy eyes and said, "Why can't we see at least one lottery winner who just loves to dance?!"
I am personally enamored by the show for 2 primary reasons: #1 - I love dance, dancing and dancers; #2 - I love to see people pursuing a life uncommon. I admire and envy the choice. I've been thinking a lot about the uncommon life lately. It's been on my mind for years, but with greater presence lately.
I've been reflecting a lot on my mom's life. All the places she's traveled to, her life with my dad, her life with us, her career path, her life after dad and all the risks and new challenges she tore through. I think much of her life has been "uncommon" exciting, interesting, messy and lovely. I've often quoted a piece of advice my mom used to give to me all the time, "Try it. You can always quit." Don't be mistaken on what the true intention of this advice. It is not merely permission to quit something we didn't like - it was encouragement to TRY something, anything we were interested in.
I've been thinking a lot about my own life as well. How I want to spend it and how I want to have been spent. Don't get me wrong, I already have some good stories to tell about my life so far. I just want a whole lot more of them. So what will I do with my one wild and precious life?
Maybe a bit more of this:
