Let me take a moment and tell you why I love Destination Dance LLC in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. I grew up in a great dance studio. We were drilled hard but we were amazing dancers. We traveled and performed all over. It was an incredible studio and I still keep in touch with the friends I made and my instructor.
When I looked for a studio for my daughter, I wanted something a little different. I wanted a place that had an environment oriented around teaching them to love dance first and then getting more strict. I wanted her to learn technique but also to learn to love and cherish what dance can provide. I wanted her to learn how to dance but also why dance is so amazing.
Destination Dance has done all of this and more.
The instructors....amazing. They combine technique and passion and are great with the kids.
The curriculum....amazing.
The studio staff....amazing.
There isn't any other word. If you are in the area, try it out. You won't regret it.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Heroes
My last post concerned villians.... this post is about heroes. Who are your heroes?
Decades ago, our children's heroes were police officers, firefighters, soldiers and more. Today, more than half of our children's heroes are celebrities. Now, let me say that there are a whole lot of celebrities that are truly amazing people. There are also celebrities that might be great people but they are not great role models for our children and, certainly, not heroes.
We have such a strange filter on our view of celebrities. We watch their highly publicized good deeds and we think, "Oh what a great person." What you don't realize is that the $10,000 they donated is a drop in the bucket to them..... it's the equivalent of you donating $10. It doesn't make it any less wonderful or any less helpful to the organization but they are not a hero for doing it. Celebrities can be wonderful people but most of them realize they aren't a hero and don't want the title.
Hero is defined as "a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities." Let's encourage the upcoming generation to find true heroes.... and let's strive toward the qualities of heroes ourselves.
Decades ago, our children's heroes were police officers, firefighters, soldiers and more. Today, more than half of our children's heroes are celebrities. Now, let me say that there are a whole lot of celebrities that are truly amazing people. There are also celebrities that might be great people but they are not great role models for our children and, certainly, not heroes.
We have such a strange filter on our view of celebrities. We watch their highly publicized good deeds and we think, "Oh what a great person." What you don't realize is that the $10,000 they donated is a drop in the bucket to them..... it's the equivalent of you donating $10. It doesn't make it any less wonderful or any less helpful to the organization but they are not a hero for doing it. Celebrities can be wonderful people but most of them realize they aren't a hero and don't want the title.
Hero is defined as "a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities." Let's encourage the upcoming generation to find true heroes.... and let's strive toward the qualities of heroes ourselves.
Villains
Our nation is so quick to want to find a villain. It's obvious every time that something goes wrong. A natural disaster happens and we are quick to blame the environment or an aid organization not coming quickly enough to help or a leader for not being on top of it. A child dies in an unpreventable accident and we crucify the parent. A divorce happens and we want to pick a side so we can vilify the other side. It's revolting, frankly.
At what point do we accept that bad things happen without a known cause sometimes?
We are not meant to control every aspect of our lives and when we try too hard to do that, God/The Universe has a way of letting you know that you're not in control. If it's happening to someone else, know that you don't have to condemn them. If it's happening to you, know that you're not alone. If you find yourself making someone into a villain, stop and think: what evidence do you have to support your claim? If it's viable evidence from a truly credible neutral source, fine.... you still don't have the right to vilify them to others but you are free to hold the opinion yourself. If it's not truly a viable NEUTRAL source, please consider exercising compassion.
We wonder why the rates of depression and such are so high? Have we considered that our nation's attitude is a contributing factor to the problem?
At what point do we accept that bad things happen without a known cause sometimes?
We are not meant to control every aspect of our lives and when we try too hard to do that, God/The Universe has a way of letting you know that you're not in control. If it's happening to someone else, know that you don't have to condemn them. If it's happening to you, know that you're not alone. If you find yourself making someone into a villain, stop and think: what evidence do you have to support your claim? If it's viable evidence from a truly credible neutral source, fine.... you still don't have the right to vilify them to others but you are free to hold the opinion yourself. If it's not truly a viable NEUTRAL source, please consider exercising compassion.
We wonder why the rates of depression and such are so high? Have we considered that our nation's attitude is a contributing factor to the problem?
Friday, December 2, 2016
Beauty Inside
There is beauty inside of everyone. Literally every single person on the planet has some beauty inside of them. "Well what about murderers, killers and dictators?" Somewhere deep inside of them, they have it but it's been pushed down with emotional illness. Let's face it: the worst of the worst seldom, if ever, have simple lives that are all sunshine and roses. Beauty is often pushed to the bottom of their personality and masked behind sociopathic tendencies.
But let's not focus on the worst of the worst....
Let's focus on that shy child that struggles to make friends. They are beautiful.
Let's focus on the teenage girl that is embarrassed to go against the Kylie Jenner trend and cover up because she feels like her personality is more important. She is beautiful.
Let's focus on that boy who just can't excel at sports and is picked on for his efforts. He is beautiful.
Let's focus on that new mom that can't seem to make the transition through the emotional racetrack that is the post partum phase. She is beautiful.
Let's focus on that man who stepped up to be a stepfather to children that weren't his and never even flinched. He is beautiful.
Let's focus on that older grandparent whose grandchildren and children neglect to come and see them or even call. They are beautiful.
There is beauty in all of us no matter how different we are. Let's look for the beauty in someone else today...and then tell them how wonderful they are. Spread some love.
But let's not focus on the worst of the worst....
Let's focus on that shy child that struggles to make friends. They are beautiful.
Let's focus on the teenage girl that is embarrassed to go against the Kylie Jenner trend and cover up because she feels like her personality is more important. She is beautiful.
Let's focus on that boy who just can't excel at sports and is picked on for his efforts. He is beautiful.
Let's focus on that new mom that can't seem to make the transition through the emotional racetrack that is the post partum phase. She is beautiful.
Let's focus on that man who stepped up to be a stepfather to children that weren't his and never even flinched. He is beautiful.
Let's focus on that older grandparent whose grandchildren and children neglect to come and see them or even call. They are beautiful.
There is beauty in all of us no matter how different we are. Let's look for the beauty in someone else today...and then tell them how wonderful they are. Spread some love.
Allowing the Tiny Star to Shine
I believe that there is beauty in allowing those that try the hardest
to shine the most.
It's not about who is the most skilled, sometimes.
It's not about who is the most pleasing to the eye of the public.
It's not about who can pay the most money to get something done.
Sometimes....
Just sometimes
It's about letting the tiny star shine in order to show them that they are just as beautiful and bright as all the other stars.
Fear of Failure
Our country seems to have a "no fail" mindset and it's a dangerous way to look at things. If someone missteps in a game, we attack them. If someone has a bad day, we chew them out for being hostile. If someone trips up, we feel the need to order them around. It's a dangerous way to think. Allow me to explain:
The current generation seems absolutely afraid of failure in any capacity. They will lie, cheat, steal and kill to get ahead. They learned it from somewhere, folks. We absolutely must teach our kids that it is okay to fail sometimes. Failure is where we learn the most. You see, it's not about teaching them to never fail but, instead, to teach them how to react to failure. We must teach them that failures can be important lessons and we must study and dissect what went wrong to create a new effort.
We also must enforce that cheaters should not win. I say this because, clearly, sometimes it happens. We must teach our kids that cheating doesn't achieve your goal; hard work does! We must teach them that the rewards reaped are much greater when we work hard and plan well. We must teach them that we should always strive toward a goal but if we miss the first time, we can get up, dust off and try again.
No fail can be dangerous. Let's teach this generation about learning through mistakes.
The current generation seems absolutely afraid of failure in any capacity. They will lie, cheat, steal and kill to get ahead. They learned it from somewhere, folks. We absolutely must teach our kids that it is okay to fail sometimes. Failure is where we learn the most. You see, it's not about teaching them to never fail but, instead, to teach them how to react to failure. We must teach them that failures can be important lessons and we must study and dissect what went wrong to create a new effort.
We also must enforce that cheaters should not win. I say this because, clearly, sometimes it happens. We must teach our kids that cheating doesn't achieve your goal; hard work does! We must teach them that the rewards reaped are much greater when we work hard and plan well. We must teach them that we should always strive toward a goal but if we miss the first time, we can get up, dust off and try again.
No fail can be dangerous. Let's teach this generation about learning through mistakes.
Tuesday Nugget
Every breath, every moment that you are here on this planet, you have a purpose. It's easy to feel like you are being lost in the shuffle. It's easy to feel as if you are unimportant.
You matter.
Find help in finding your purpose but never forget that you have one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)