Posted on:Nov 23 2020
Okay, so, before you get the wrong idea about the title, let me explain - it is not a call for casual sex (I promise, Mom), it is not about stolen goods, and it is not about Merriam W’s ‘something gained or won.’
The booty I’m talkin’ about is shakeable! 😊
Here’s a little fun fact, thanks to a quick search on the google - “booty” is actually a slang word that “has surprisingly old origins” : it comes from “bottie,” an Early Modern English word that means “buttocks.” Who knew?
So yeah, shake your booty, like you do when you dance!
When’s the last time you danced?
I know, right? Waaaaay toooooooo looooong.
Past time to throw a dance party, to practice a little cutloose, Footloose booty shakin’ in the privacy of your own kitchen or living room, grab a candlestick a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business.
Come on, now, no excuses, people - I’ve got KC and the Sunshine Band ! from 1975 ! on American Bandstand ! right here - go ahead, click (or copy paste) the link below, stand up, and get groovy in your Boogie Shoes. And you may want to watch the clip more than once to take a good gander at those hair styles, those mens’ shirt collars, those wildly-colorful form-fitting embellished bell-bottom polyester outfits - wowza! And, yes, I’ll even own my junior high crush on KC, what a hottie!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m47EQtAMzI
See? Wasn’t that fun? So much fun you danced it twice? Or maybe one thing led to another and, before you knew it, you were searching your favorite upbeat playlist or your vinyl collection and channeling Patrick Swayze or Fred Astaire and moonwalking or doin’ some boot scootin’ line dancin’ or maybe ballroom with your partner is more your jam — heck, it just doesn’t matter, whatever taps that happy booty-shakin’ thang!
Boom! Instant mood booster, instant good vibes!
Seriously though, music is truly one of the quickest, easiest - and most enjoyable, thinks the self-ascribed Dancing Queen 😊 - ways to give yourself a mood boost.
Songs are often evocative of memorable life events and help connect you directly to a happy time — Talking Heads’ “Burnin’ Down the House” will forever remind me of spring quarter junior year of college...Glenn Miller’s “In The Mood” of our synchro routine...LRB’s “Reminiscing” a high school boyfriend...
There’s plenty of research showing that a glass-half-full outlook helps you form more connected relationships and stick to your feel-good habits, like exercise and healthy eating.
I know I’ve said this many times over the past many months - who doesn’t need a little help with maintaining a sunny outlook and sticking to our feel-good habits? It’s a challenge even under the best of circumstances...are we even halfway through this marathon?
Fortunately there’s some big hope on the horizon (like a vaccine) and it’s on each of us to stay connected to the things we look forward to...it helps buoy the present moment.
Pause and imagine our post-pandemic Roaring 2020s celebration...
Talk about Good Times, Dancing In The Streets, Boogie Wonderland, Let’s Go Crazy !
For now, though, when your grumpy Eeyore won’t leave you alone, ask that darn donkey to dance !! Instead of doomscrolling — that repetitive, tic-like habit of refreshing your social media feed that rarely makes you feel better — get off your booty and put on some Everything’s Gonna Be Alright music!
Because music works. Just the other day - when I was wrestling my Eeyore to the point of “oh ffs Robin!” - I Spotify’d 70s and 80s Disco/Funk/Soul, cranked the volume, and danced until the fog lifted and the sun was blazing. It totally worked! That buzzy, happy feeling lasted all the way til bedtime. 😊
According to the Bee Gees, You Should Be Dancing...
Peaches & Herb want you to Shake Your Groove Thing...
And Michael Jackson nailed it : Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough
P.S. Booty Boost sets the record for exclamation points, but there you go. Hot Stuff, Blame It On The Boogie !! 😉
