"The Macarena factor".
Published on August 22, 2011
There is a great line from the movie Braveheart that says, "Every man dies. Not every man truly lives". Little wonder really that we don't live more of our moments with passion and emotion and laughter and excitement. The longer it seems that the world and everyone in it has a chance to tell us to walk this way and not that, a lit more of that unique quality we were born with begins to dissipate. The most poison arrows of passion are words like, "Grow up. Be responsible. You are making a fool of yourself". Opinion you see appears to be what strips away our great qualities. I was taught this in song on Friday afternoon. My son's last day at camp was celebrated with a full talent show put on by the camp councilors. They were great. The last number was put on by a group of girls singing the Macarena. Throughout the song they kept encouraging everyone to join in, sing the lyrics and mimic the motions. Hands on hips, spin around, you know the drill. Looking around the room most every child was taking part, belting out the lyrics and mirroring the moves. Curious since the song was released back in 1993, many years before any of these kids were even born. One other thing that caught my attention looking about were the parents. We all knew the song. We all knew the lyrics. We all knew the moves, yet not one of us was actually brave enough to let the emotion and fun escape from our responsibility riddled bodies. Wow, I thought. Don't we have some learning to do from these kids? We do you know. We need to allow ourselves the opportunity once in a while to let our hair down and let our emotions out. As William Wallace said, "To truly live". Next time you feel the child inside of you trapped and wanting to come out, remember the Macarena factor. Have an excellent day. "It's a mental game. This thing called life". Here is the question, "If I don't achieve my goal then what stopped me?" This is a question answered by the masses with a multitude of excuses every day. "The markets went down. The client postponed. The fries and gravy were going to go to waste. The $1,000. shoes were on sale for $699." And so it goes. While things may crop up in life that are challenges and temporary barriers, it is possible to go around, over, under or through most everything. Where the true challenge comes in for us all is between our ears. Doubt is the greatest wall of adversity we all face. Doubt was what crept into the mind of one Tiger Woods yesterday. On the opening round of the last major of the year Tiger silenced the naysayers on the first 3 holes with birdies and was the clubhouse leader after 5. Then the devil of doubt on his shoulder turned up the volume and transformed birdies into bogies. The ghost of a faltering dynasty has left him 7 over par and 14 shots off the pace after just the first round. Is Tiger perhaps the greatest golfer in history. Likely. Did his true talent show through on the first five holes. Of course. Was what happened to him yesterday a lack of talent or belief? I think you know the answer. Know this. The challenge you may face in life is not a brick wall but merely the perception of one. Know that the wall does not exist. Know that you have the talent and skill and ability to have anything you desire. In the end it all comes down to this. Its a mental game. This thing called life. Have an excellent day.
