“Better to do something imperfectly than nothing flawlessly.” ~ unknown

I have to admit, I’m kind of in a funk.

It’s winter, and that’s a part of it for sure. I’m not an “outdoorswoman” in the strictest sense of the word, but I’m a person who really likes to go outside for a little while every day to go for a walk. That gets a little bit more difficult when it’s safer to walk in the middle of the street dodging traffic than it is to walk on sidewalks because they’re so snowy and icy (although I have to admit that I love my Yaktrax.)

Part of it is spending too much time keeping up with current events. Bummer.

And maybe part of it is coming to the conclusion that what I thought I wanted to do with my life, I don’t actually want to do anymore. I’ve got all of these skills that I’ve spent years gathering and working on, and when it comes right down to it, I love the discipline but don’t care for the work… so now what?

Now I find a new path, one that is amazing.

Rather than crash around blindly, my new anti-blue-funk strategy is to do one amazing thing every day.

Let’s define amazing, so nobody gets the impression that I’m talking about scaling Everest. No, I’m talking about doing something that makes me feel happy, or enlightened, or like I’m making a contribution to the world, or something that makes me feel exhilarated or appreciative. Something that, when I think about it, I would admire if another person did it. Something that would make me think, “hey, I should try that.”

Or something that I don’t enjoy but need to do because it’s part of what it means to live like a grown-up… like going to the dentist (which I did yesterday, thank you very much).

Most of these things won’t be big, or even significant. But they will require a decision and an action.

My first amazing thing: take a bellydance class.

Painting depicting a bellydancer, by Jean-Léon Gérôme, via wikipedia.

I’ve been wanting to find a dance class for a while. I danced all through my teenage years, and I enjoy moving to music. I’m not a teenager anymore (and haven’t been for a really long time), my knees aren’t in the greatest shape — and, truth be told, neither am I — but I found a beginning bellydance class through the parks department, and ta-dah!

It’s so much fun, and a huge challenge. Imagine having to figure out how to walk and chew gum at the same time, only you don’t have the skills required to either walk or chew gum… it’s kind of like that. I’m so bad it’s got to be comical (or pathetic) to watch, but the teacher is lovely and very skilled, and since we’re all beginners we’re all in the same boat.

And because it reminds me that it’s OK to be a beginner (and to be really bad at something), it’s my first amazing thing.