7 August 2021, Somewhere in the Metaverse - UplandDood (@Just1Dood)

"Life is a never-ending dance. It will only end when the curtain falls and the music stops" - The wise UplandDood

Have you ever thought about it this way? That our life is like a dance? In fact, it is. It is a never-ending one dance after the other. Some dance takes longer than others. We shuffle between them. Life is indeed a medley of dance.

Let's get through the preliminaries quickly so that I can talk about the dance proper (or you can skip directly to The Shuffle and start from there).

Babyhood Wiggles

We started life with a cry, announcing our arrival. That cry is music to the parents who brought us into this world. We are new arrivals. There isn't much we can do when brand new. No dance, only songs and maybe the occasional wiggles.

Then, we learn how to crawl. Now, that is a level up. It isn't long before we learn the shuffles before graduating to more advanced steps. It's no longer the uncertain shuffling. A more predictable pattern arises.

Young Adulthood

For much of the remaining childhood and the young adulthood, we do the accepted Hokey-Pokey. We are now entering into more predictable steps of going to school in order to hopefully graduate summa cum laude. We will now know if we are proficient enough in our dance knowledge to make it in this dog-eat-dog world.

As we enter adulthood, we have the basics down. We are ready to take on the stage.

Adulthood

By this time, we have already spent a quarter of our lives perfecting our dance before society deemed it fit for us to graduate as certified dancers. We should be knowledgeable enough to perform the fitting dance when a situation calls for it.

I'm sure you'd like to find out some of these and when we use them. Do allow me to briefly go through some of them. If you noticed any dance that I have missed out on, do mention them in your comments below. I'm quite sure there are many.

The Shuffle

This is used when we are assigned tasks we don't like doing. We tend to push them to tomorrow. As I've always said, "Why do today what you can do tomorrow".

I'm actually pretty good at it. Doesn't take much skill. In fact, even if I have two left feet, I can still do the shuffle. The shuffle will probably look more natural if done with two left feet! Or if you rather prefer, two right feet. Hahahaha...

The Hokey-Pokey

Best used when you need to pass the buck. Everyone is doing it so why not you too? Dance is normally accompanied by lyrics such as "I didn't do it. <Put your hated colleague's here> did" or "That's not my fault. <Put your hated colleague's here> put that there". See the pattern here? Don't be a hated colleague. This happens on a daily basis so it's a common dance.

The Breakdance

We normally use this when we want to be left alone. If the body-flipping and arm-swinging tricks don't work; then the helicopter trick will certainly do the job. People will leave you alone. Then, it's a quiet moonwalk float to make oneself disappear.

The violent version of this usually ends up with someone getting hurt. It's usually a dance gone bad. No one is supposed to get hurt.

.This next part is R-Rated. If you are not above 18 years of age, please skip this part and continue after the "End of R-Rated segment".

[Beginning or R-Rated segment]

The Waltz

When you waltz, you know that love is in the air.

It usually starts off innocently enough with waltzing and dining. Waltzing can be deceptive cause everyone is in their best dress and suit. Nonetheless, it is an essential step before one can proceed to the next dance.

The Tango

Yes, when you have waltzed enough times in many different ballrooms, it's time for that final ballroom waltz before graduating to Tango. Both of you have to be certified as Waltz dancers before you can advance to Tango. Yes, the strange part is that in some instances, you'll be certified or rather blessed by someone who's never done any Waltz himself. LOL. Go figure.

Alright, let's proceed to the part where everyone is waiting for, including those who are not supposed to be reading this R-Rated segment. Yeah, I know you cheated. Shame on you. Okay, on to - The Tango! Why Tango? Cause it takes two to Tango! Can't do it by yourself. Hahahaha.

[End of R-Rated segment]

The Cha-cha

Have you ever noticed that in a cha-cha...you move forward but then you move backward? Then you turn around? It can be confusing. But if you really analyze it, it makes sense.

Let me illustrate with a story:

There was a time in my career where I had taken a 50% salary cut. This was a decision I have made in order to work under someone whom I know I could learn from. It wasn't only a salary cut but in terms of seniority, it was a demotion too. I was already in a Managerial level position but in order to take this job, I had taken up a non-managerial level position. It was a calculated risk. I knew the knowledge and experience I get under this new boss would carry me forward in the future. In fact, it turned out so because it took me a much shorter time to be offered a Director level position in the same industry.

In short, I'd taken a step back but two steps forwards in a shorter time span than I would have if I hadn't taken that step backward.

Life is like that. Forward and backward. Not all backward are bad.

This is probably the only serious dance in this article.

The Twist

It's almost like the Cha-cha except that in Cha-chas, you do get to move a bit. But when you're stuck with The Twist, it seems like you're doing a thousand and one things but ends up going nowhere. You're stuck! Sometimes you try hard to shake the leg loose and start to move but still end up on the same spot. Yes, you are truly stuck. I don't what to tell you here. You may have to wait for the music to stop before moving on...might be too late then. Why? Because...

The Music Plays On

The music never stops. Once it stops, someone will be left without a chair. That would be game over then.

Therefore, as long as the music plays on, the world continues to revolve and the stage remains for us to continue our dance.

Curtain Call

We are all dancers in this world. Let's take a bow and let's continue on with our own dances. Old dance, new dance, it doesn't matter. We can always choose to dance and make a difference in each other's lives.

Thank you for dancing and for being my friends.

This song by Men Without Hats conveys this sentiment. It is called Safety Dance. Here's how the song starts:

We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance
And if they don't dance
Well, they're no friends of mine

It's got a catchy tune. With that, I'll end this article and leave you with David Bowie calling all of us to Let's Dance!

Thank you for reading and hope you've enjoyed it. See you in the next article and have a great weekend!

Sources:

Header: unsplash.com - Adriana Aceves

Image 1: unsplash.com - Atharva Tulsi

Image 2: unsplash.com - Preillumination SeTh

Video Clip 1: Youtube.com

Video Clip 2: Youtube.com

Thank you again for dropping by. Have fun with English. Remember to share your experience in the comment section.

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