Me, and my wonderful friend Maggie, getting ready for my bachelorette tea party.
Everyone needs permission for something.
For me, I have never been one who needs permission to be silly or kooky or kid-like. I dance in grocery stores. I conduct Christmas Eve Sarajevo in coffee shops (while holding a latte…the song came on, I had to conduct, it’s required…). I go on swings or start twirling around for no reason. I talk to trees and give them big hugs. I am quick to tell strangers I am a mermaid. If a store has a little kid door, you can bet I’m going in it. I fly in the wind all the time. I often use my super-secret James Bond sneak walk with finger guns when I am walking into random buildings. I believe I magically open automatic doors when I make a big “open sesame” gesture. I will wear fruit stickers on my face while out in public. I have to stick my tongue out at every video camera I see.
And of course…playing dress up. I am a huge fan of playing dress up. So having a tea party with boas and fancy hats and crazy glasses was the natural way for me to have a bachelorette party.
After the tea party, I kept my boa and glasses on as we wandered around a street festival. I love watching reactions to stuff like this. Some people try not to stare. Some people look and smile a little. And then there are the ones I love the most, the people who just light up and grin, and say I love what you wearing, I would love to wear something like that. I should do that!
I encourage these people as much as possible. Well, why don’t you? Of course you should! Have fun! Celebrate your inner crazy, let yourself play!
I think a lot of people need permission to be silly. As “grown ups,” people feel like they are supposed to be serious. They have a fear of, what will people think of me? They feel too self-conscious. They think, what if I look silly and people laugh at me?
My answer here is….so what? So what if people look at you? I can guarantee a lot of them are admiring your guts to do something silly. I bet more are wishing “they could do that, too.” And I can guarantee you this too…being silly isn’t going to have you wind up in jail (I’ll assume you will keep your silliness in legal limits!). Being silly and crazy and celebrating your inner five-year-old isn’t going to make it so that the bank cancels your loan or you lose your prime parking spot at work. But I bet that it will make you feel lighter. Freer. Happier. Even if it is just for a few minutes. Go on. Try it. I double dog dare you.
So, this right here is me giving you the permission you are waiting for, for whatever you need permission for. You have permission to be silly. You have permission to *gasp* not be perfect. You have permission do something you have always thought to yourself, I wish I could do that. You have permission to try something new. You have permission to not be so hard on yourself. You have permission to make time for YOU, no matter how busy you are, even if it only five minutes. You have permission, it’s ok.
Now go and do it.
Read Full Post »
Flying Mermaid 