Dancing Man

So, in the course of my daily activities, I spend about four hours of my day on The Bus commuting to and from town (for those of you not familiar with Hawaii vernacular, The Bus is the major, surprisingly efficient mass transit system that goes through most of the island. Town is Honolulu.)

Now, I spend a lot of time on the bus. I see a lot of different people. But the other day, one man in particular caught my eye. He wasn't doing anything with any of the other passengers, but he was sitting off in a corner, headphones covering his head, and when he tilted his phone screen I could see that a music video was playing on his phone. But none of those are markedly different from many of the other Bus passengers.

No, what made this man different and caught my eye was the fact that this man was dancing.

Picture it now. A tall man, with a square jaw and hooked nose, long brown curly hair caught in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He had bushy eyebrows and his skin was a golden brown, wearing a blue aloha shirt. Dancing.

Granted, this wasn't the "I've-suddenly-found-myself-in-an-actual-musical" dancing, with grandiose movements and concise crowd choreography. It was the smaller, more private "this-music-is-filling-me-with-something-that-I-need-to-express-but-I'm-in-a-public-place" dancing. Just little head nods and hand/finger movements and body swaying and lip movement that almost anyone who's dedicated some portion of themselves to music would recognize.

It was beautiful. There's always a joy and wonder when I see someone give in to their passion and express themselves without reservation. And I'm intimately familiar with the happiness and emotions that accompany listening to my favorite music; when you feel the notes and the beat and it's under your very skin.

This dancing man, I know how he feels. And I'd wager a significant portion of you guys do too. But we don't really share that passion very often, for various reasons. It's a shame, really. There's a pure, unadulterated radiance that's shared when passion is expressed. 

And one of the reasons that people often don't share it is because when they do, or when they have in the past, they've been met with disparaging looks and rude comments from those nearby. Embarrassment and shame are cruelly efficient tools to control social actions. 

And it's just rude. If it's not disturbing anyone, what need do we have to shame people for expressing their love for something that obviously means a lot to them? It's cruel and hurtful, and in my experiences, it's one of the worst feelings in the world. 

This man, this dancing man, however, didn't cause any disturbances. He was just happy, and it was wonderful. You go, dancing man. Do your thing. 

And you, you don't be afraid to share your passions too. It's beautiful, and you never know who's watching and just how much you'll make their day. 

Stay pop punk.