The Brain is a Bad Neighborhood - Don"t Go There Alone
I am starting to learn how to dance.
I want to learn Salsa, Latin, and Ballroom dancing.
Now I grew up in 1980s in the days of rock and disco.
These were the times when men and women danced a foot or so apart and they both did whatever they felt like doing.
Dancers were separate, but together.
And I am quite proficient at that sort of dancing.
But the concept of dancing with a partner is a bit foreign, and has me nervous.
So I went to a Latin dance party.
The kind where they have a lesson and then everyone dances afterward.
Fortunately everyone was very welcoming to a newcomer like me.
And at one point a gentleman asked me to dance.
He must have sensed I was new and he kept saying "just follow the beat 1,2,3,&, just follow the beat.
" And then, after a minute or so, and quite out of the blue, he said thank you very much, and was done.
I meandered off of the floor, a bit melancholy.
And as I did so a thought began to formulate in my ever-critical brain.
The thought was "He got off the floor because I was so off the beat, that he couldn't even dance with me.
" The thought lingered with me.
And I listened to it.
Soon I was extrapolating on the thought.
"Maybe I should just sit down.
People come here want to dance, not to babysit.
I should really save these nice men from feeling obliged to ask a newcomer to dance.
" And so on, and so forth.
And pretty soon I was so negative, that I didn't even want to dance anymore.
Fortunately I am highly trained in recognizing and confronting my own stupidity, especially since I have plenty of stupidity to practice on.
So I went up to that same gentleman and I asked him, in my nicest way, to tell me if he had stopped dancing with me because I was so off the beat.
He laughed a true belly laugh.
Then he smiled at me and said "No, It was just that the song ended.
" At that, I had to laugh too.
And yet, as I ponder this episode I can see that we as human beings go through life having thoughts and thinking they are true.
We act on them.
And we never consider that most of the things that we think about other people and why they do what they do are completely, profoundly, and without question untrue.
So that the one thing most of us can rely on is that our own minds (with perhaps the greatest of intentions to help and assist us) are actually our worst enemies.
And so I say, the brain is a bad neighborhood- don't go there alone.
Always check to see if what you think is going on, truly is going on.
Because I, for one, had a great time dancing after that.
I want to learn Salsa, Latin, and Ballroom dancing.
Now I grew up in 1980s in the days of rock and disco.
These were the times when men and women danced a foot or so apart and they both did whatever they felt like doing.
Dancers were separate, but together.
And I am quite proficient at that sort of dancing.
But the concept of dancing with a partner is a bit foreign, and has me nervous.
So I went to a Latin dance party.
The kind where they have a lesson and then everyone dances afterward.
Fortunately everyone was very welcoming to a newcomer like me.
And at one point a gentleman asked me to dance.
He must have sensed I was new and he kept saying "just follow the beat 1,2,3,&, just follow the beat.
" And then, after a minute or so, and quite out of the blue, he said thank you very much, and was done.
I meandered off of the floor, a bit melancholy.
And as I did so a thought began to formulate in my ever-critical brain.
The thought was "He got off the floor because I was so off the beat, that he couldn't even dance with me.
" The thought lingered with me.
And I listened to it.
Soon I was extrapolating on the thought.
"Maybe I should just sit down.
People come here want to dance, not to babysit.
I should really save these nice men from feeling obliged to ask a newcomer to dance.
" And so on, and so forth.
And pretty soon I was so negative, that I didn't even want to dance anymore.
Fortunately I am highly trained in recognizing and confronting my own stupidity, especially since I have plenty of stupidity to practice on.
So I went up to that same gentleman and I asked him, in my nicest way, to tell me if he had stopped dancing with me because I was so off the beat.
He laughed a true belly laugh.
Then he smiled at me and said "No, It was just that the song ended.
" At that, I had to laugh too.
And yet, as I ponder this episode I can see that we as human beings go through life having thoughts and thinking they are true.
We act on them.
And we never consider that most of the things that we think about other people and why they do what they do are completely, profoundly, and without question untrue.
So that the one thing most of us can rely on is that our own minds (with perhaps the greatest of intentions to help and assist us) are actually our worst enemies.
And so I say, the brain is a bad neighborhood- don't go there alone.
Always check to see if what you think is going on, truly is going on.
Because I, for one, had a great time dancing after that.
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