I’m going to take you back to 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 that exuded from the people that walked by, the food vibrant with color, 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- explored 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 under disco lights and smiles from every direction.
One of the first observations I made, culturally, about the women in the Nordic countries we had visited, were that the women exuded a strong sense of confidence. Although a generalization, the sense that I got starting in Denmark and then Sweden and then in Norway was this sense of focus and strength seen in the women. They didn’t seem to be seeking any sort of approval or validation from anyone around them. It was seen in their sense of style, in the way they walked, in the way they talked – I was truly fangirling by the time we got to Norway. So much girl power!
So there we were, it was about 1am, dancing under the sunset colors of the midsummer night, and, right in the center of the dance floor was a woman dancing on her own – flowing and totally in her own technicolor world.
A man spotted her and began inching towards her, with his eye focused on her and her every move. Not super creepy, per say, simply a man wanting the attention of a woman on the dance floor. He started busting some moves, shaking everything from head to toe. The dance moves emulated a bird’s mating call – fluffing up his big colorful feathers, shaking his head all around.
Clearly not interested in the man’s attempts to grab her attention, purposely closing her eyes and facing the opposite way, the woman simply kept dancing on her own – 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 clap, as if I had just watched a clip straight from National Geographic. I 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 have gotten mad that he was dancing so close to her or bothered that he would even try to have her dance with him. She could have shut down and walked off the dance floor, but she didn’t. She didn’t let him into her bubble – 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 vibrant.
I felt like that scene played out in front of me for a reason, and I have internalized that dancing queen’s energy ever since when working on overcoming negativity and instead focusing on the positive. (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
