Written by Marta
14 Nov 2014
There are days when you walk right in the middle of the street. You breathe deeply, scattering around shining smiles. And you catch passers’-by gazes – sometimes surprised, often distrustful, but more and more often – warmly encouraging. After a while, you realize that a smile can perform miracles…
It was a greyish Sunday afternoon. November treated Stockholm nicely: no snow yet, just a little drizzle. The spacy square of Sergels Torg was enjoying its fair bit of rest. Busy week-days were lying ahead…
Suddenly, a couple of people in orange froze in a hugging pose right in the middle of the square. Soon, more and more orange shirts joined in. Some were kneeling to help their buddies with shoe ties, others – reaching out to offer an umbrella, or to give directions to tourists, or to encourage the disappointed, or to offer a tissue to somebody crying. Was it how it looked from the outside? I was standing in an orange sweater in this crowd of weirdoes, catching some surprised gazes, and bursting with excitement. The same day, the same song, the same dance, – 80 cities around the globe united by Dance for Kindness!
Gentle music was playing in the background. It was getting louder and louder, until one seemingly frozen orange shirt woke up. She moved forward and started dancing. 2 more joined in. 8 more! Wait, but they are all dancing, – orange shirts and bright scarves, 8-year old kiddos and grandpas, – jumping, and spinning, and screaming “The revolution of Love!”. I was in the moment, feeling the energy of every move, and eager to spread the warmth of that feeling all around me.
One moment to be happy, where you are
Don’t think about yesterday, don’t re-open scars
Be the one to knock the first domino over
once you smile so will that guy over your shoulder…
Yep, we’ve all experienced that feeling: like the world is ours. And we laugh, and dance, and shine with happiness. Why not empower others, smile to strangers, spread that feeling on inclusion and encouragement? After all, happiness grows exponentially when shared!
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Credit for the photos: Deesha Domah
Credit for the song words: Charlotte Bromner, Life Vest Inside web-site
