You know the saying “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”? It’s the same idea except a lot more fun and it came upon me on a midsummer night in Oslo, Norway.
It was the middle of June, my husband and I had just arrived in Oslo to begin our big 3 month trip in Europe. We were completely over the moon- the infrastructure, the light in the people, the food, the inspiration that flowed up and down the streets. At this point, we had spent time in Denmark, Sweden and Iceland and completely loved the Nordics.
We had been told that Norway was going to blow us away and that it did.
Once we checked into our flat, we did what we usually do when we arrive to a new place- explore as much as possible to get a good lay of the land. We went up to The Royal Palace, down to Sentrum, past the beautiful buildings lining Hammersborg and ended in the lively strip of Grünerløkka. Bucket hats in action, we danced and laughed and danced some more.
Something I have always admired about the girls in the Nordic countries is the confidence they exude. I know I am generalizing, but the majority of the girls that you see out and about when exploring in the Nordic countries seem so strong and focused, not seeking any sort of approval or validation from those around them. You can see it in their style, you can see it in the way they carry themselves and in the way that they talk- it’s something that I first saw in Copenhagen and have admired since.
So there we were, it was about 1am, dancing under the sunset colors of the midsummer night, and I noticed this girl dancing on her own – flowing and totally in her own technicolor world.
This guy begins to dance closer and closer to her, with his eye focused on her and her every move. Not super creepy, per say, simply a man wanting the attention of a girl on the dance floor. He started busting some moves, shaking everything head to toe – think a bird’s mating call – fluffing feathers, shaking his head all around.
Unbothered, the girl just kept dancing- it was her night and no one was going to ruin it.
This mating call lasted about 5 minutes and eventually, after coming to terms that no dance move was going to be successful enough to grab the attention of this woman, he moved on.
I almost wanted to go congratulate her, maybe give her a high five for being such a BA, but instead I did what I always do – I internalized the underlying lesson that applies to life- Never Stop Dancing.
No matter what gets thrown your way, just keep grooving the night away.
She could’ve gotten mad that he was dancing so close to her, but she didn’t. She didn’t let him ruin her night, she didn’t give him the time of day.
So many times when I’m on a high, living an amazing experience or seeing something new and exciting, I’ll let that one little negative or annoying thing get in the way and absorb me. I’ll give it all of my attention and give power to the negativity or annoyance, which usually then changes that whole situation into something not as colorful or happy.
I felt like that played out in front of me for a reason, and I have internalized that dancing queen’s energy ever since when overcoming negativity. (Little did we know, Never Stop Dancing would become an extremely relevant motto for the turbulent rollercoaster of a trip we had ahead..)
May we all channel a bit of that dancing queen energy as we go through our everyday- dancing and grooving and keeping spirits high with out letting anything or anyone get in the way.
May we all Never Stop Dancing through life, because if not, then, really, what’s the point?
As always, sending you lots of love <3
Until next time, dancing queens,
Cristina Marie
