Sometimes You Have To Dance…

The other day I had approximately a million things to accomplish. You know those days. The kind where the list keeps growing faster than you can cross anything off of it, your brain is trying to think about six things at the same time, and somehow you keep walking into rooms without remembering why you went in there. I had things that needed to get done, things I had already put off, things I suddenly remembered while I was trying to do something completely different, and absolutely no ability to convince my brain to settle down and focus on one thing at a time.

The funny thing was, I knew I needed to decompress. My brain felt overloaded and scattered, and part of me wanted to shut everything down for the day and do absolutely nothing. But the other part of me knew that wasn’t really what I needed either. Some days, stopping is exactly the right answer. Some days you need to put the list away, cancel something, sit on the couch, go outside, take a nap, or give yourself permission to leave things unfinished. I am getting better at recognizing those days. This just wasn’t one of them.

I needed to get things done.

I just didn’t want to feel miserable while I was doing it.

So I put on a playlist of my favorite songs.

And somewhere along the way, I started dancing.

Nothing coordinated or impressive. There was no audience and there definitely didn’t need to be one. I was just moving around the house, singing along to songs I love, dancing from one thing on my list to the next. I cleaned some things. Organized some things. Took care of things I had been avoiding. Every once in a while a song came on that required me to stop what I was doing for a minute because obviously there are songs that deserve your full attention.

And something shifted.

My list hadn’t gotten shorter yet. My responsibilities hadn’t disappeared. Nothing about my actual circumstances had changed. I still had the exact same things to accomplish that I had before I turned the music on.

But I felt different inside of them.

I wasn’t just trying to survive my way to the bottom of the list anymore. I was actually enjoying pieces of my day while I was getting there.

That stayed with me.

I think sometimes we get so focused on getting through life that we forget we’re allowed to actually live while we’re doing it. We tell ourselves we’ll relax when everything is finished. We’ll do something fun after we get caught up. We’ll enjoy ourselves when work settles down, when the house is clean, when the appointments are handled, when the emails are answered, when this busy season passes and life finally gives us a little breathing room.

But when does that actually happen?

There is always something.

There will always be laundry somewhere. There will always be an email waiting for an answer, something that needs cleaning, somewhere we need to go, someone who needs something from us, another responsibility sitting quietly in the background waiting for its turn. We finish one list and eventually start another one. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. That’s just life.

And I don’t want to spend my life waiting until everything is finished before I let myself enjoy being here.

Maybe joy doesn’t always have to be something we earn after we’ve handled everything else. Maybe we can bring it with us.

That sounds ridiculously simple, but I think that’s why we miss it.

Sometimes taking care of ourselves really does require making a big change. Sometimes we need boundaries. Sometimes we need rest. Sometimes we need to say no, ask for help, step away from something, or admit that what we’re doing isn’t sustainable anymore. Those things matter.

But sometimes we just need to turn the music up.

Sometimes we need to drink the coffee out of the mug we actually like instead of the first one we grab. Open the windows while we’re cleaning. Take the dog along for the ride. Call someone who makes us laugh while we’re folding laundry. Sing in the car. Stop for five minutes and stand outside because the weather feels good. Take a picture of something that makes us happy for no reason other than we want to remember it.

Sometimes we need to dance our way through the to-do list.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how easy it is to make taking care of ourselves into another responsibility. We hear all the things we’re supposed to be doing. Sleep enough. Drink water. Exercise. Journal. Meditate. Practice mindfulness. Spend time outside. Maintain relationships. Set boundaries. Make time for hobbies. Rest.

Suddenly taking care of yourself has its own to-do list.

I don’t think that’s what it’s supposed to feel like.

Maybe sometimes the question doesn’t need to be, “What else should I be doing to take care of myself?”

Maybe it can simply be, “What would make this moment a little better?”

Not perfect. Not life-changing. Not something worthy of an inspirational quote.

Just better.

What could make the next twenty minutes feel a little more like living instead of something you need to get through?

That day, for me, it was music. It was moving my body and singing songs I have heard a hundred times. It was allowing myself to be playful in the middle of a day that could have easily become nothing more than responsibilities and checkmarks. And somewhere between the music and the things getting crossed off my list, my brain settled down.

I got things done.

But I also enjoyed myself.

Those things are allowed to exist together.

Maybe that’s part of the balance I’m always trying to figure out. Not creating some perfectly organized life where work happens over here and joy happens over there, but learning how to let them bump into each other sometimes. Letting ordinary responsibilities exist beside laughter and music and connection and adventure and all the little things that remind us we’re actually here.

Because there is a difference between getting through our days and being present for them.

I don’t want to look back someday and realize I spent most of my life rushing through the ordinary parts because I was waiting for the good parts to begin. These are the parts. The errands and the music. The laundry and the conversations. The deadlines and the ridiculous dancing in the kitchen. The huge moments we remember forever and the completely ordinary Tuesday afternoon we probably won’t remember at all.

It’s all our life.

So maybe the next time your brain is scattered and your list feels endless, you don’t have to immediately figure out how to escape it or force yourself through it.

Maybe just ask yourself what you could bring into the moment.

Something small.

Something that feels like you.

Something that reminds you that even on the busy days, the overwhelming days, the days filled with responsibilities and things that simply have to get done, you are still allowed to enjoy being alive.

And if you can’t think of anything?

Put on your favorite song.

Then dance your way through the list.

Reflection

Where have you been telling yourself that you’ll enjoy life once everything else is finished?

Try This

Pick one completely ordinary thing you have to do this week and add something you enjoy to it. Music while you clean. A favorite drink while you run errands. A phone call while you fold laundry. Take the dog along. Go outside. Sing in the car.

Don’t wait until the work is finished to find a little joy.

Bring some with you.