Here's a funny phenomenon I rediscovered this evening at the Cirque de Soleil. People know the phrase "go hard or go home" for sports and business, but somehow they totally fail on it when it comes to other things. Like, for example, being part of the show that is everyday life.
You know, whether you dress in sweatpants and keep your head down, or wear face paint and a corset and keep your head up and your smile bright, you ARE part of the show.
You, me, everybody around us, we all create the Show of Life.
In downtown Bankers Hall in Calgary, people know they're part of the show. They obsess about their hair, their nails, their clothes, their shoes... (when I worked on the almost-top floor of a very tall tower, do you know how I could tell where people were going to get off? By the shininess of their shoes. The shiniest shoes always went to the top floors. A little weird, but there you have it, over six months of observations, this held true.) And trust me, they make beautiful eye candy. It's a phenomenon.
But when those same people go to Cirque de Soleil, what do most of them look like? Exactly the same as they do at the office. Then, in that context, if you ask me, they're failing. Maybe they're still beautiful but they're not appropriately dressed. Get in it to win it, folks! Take your eyeliner and your lipstick and doodle on your face. Men, find yourselves a top hat and some stove pipe pants. With the rise of Steam Punk, everybody can play.
But... gasp. What will people think? They'll think you're having FUN! And then they'll have more fun too. So you'll be contributing to the happiness of the world.
Not only that. Aside from the fun and joy you spread around, you make the staff happy. And do you know what happy staff do? They occasionally bestow benefits on people who amuse them.
So amuse them! They are there show after show after show, watching people come and go. Do something to make them smile and show you're in it.
It doesn't take much effort at all. And it will be much appreciated. Doodling on my face like that took about three minutes -- I am sure most women spent a lot longer beautifying themselves. And the fun thing is, you don't have to be beautiful and thin and wonderful to make people smile. You just have to be having fun. So put out that effort! You will be appreciated. In fact, by being joyful and fun and colourful, and by your will to share with others, you become beautiful. More beautiful than a haughty magazine model.
When I went to Disneyworld with my son the last time, I happened to have found a princess dress for cheap, unbought in a rack of grad dresses in... Grande Prairie, Alberta, I think. I altered it a little so it fit and I wore it on down to Disney, land of the princesses. The Disney staff made much much much of me everywhere we went. Do you know why? Because they all have to dress up, and they LOVE having other adults join in. At one show we went to, they gave us seats right up front, and the musicians all serenaded me, and gave me a CD, too. (Hey, they need to pick someone!)
I'm not saying you can dress up and be calculating about trying to get free stuff. You need to do it simply for joy. But these things happen once a decade or so. In the meanwhile, you just get to have a lot of fun.
Tonight at Cirque de Soleil they decided to move us down to the front row at the intermission. Just because we were fun. At the end of the show when we were three feet from the performers I noticed the big strong-man acrobat was smiling down at me, and then I realized -- of course. He's enjoying the show too. The show that I'm making. It was more fun for him to try to figure out what I'd drawn on my face (what is that? A tree? a flower?) than look at all the plainly dressed people nearby.
So be a part of the show. Here are some suggestions.
- If you're at the mall, Smile At People.*
- If you're waiting for the bus, crack a joke.
- If you're walking down the street, sing a song out loud.
- If you're going to any sort of city event at all, Dress For It.
Because Life is For Having Fun. We have plenty of time to be serious. Laugh at yourself a little and grab your chance to be silly with all three hands whenever you can.
*Some day, I want to get someone to fund a campaign where I can walk around and reward people who are smiling and noticing others -- there must be a way to remind society of the joy of sharing joy. Maybe bribing people would be a start? Meanwhile, I know if you read to the bottom of this article, you're ready and willing to play. So enjoy! And write to me and tell me about the fun you have with it.
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