Front Row and Left of Centre!

Today was a fantastic day!  I took my 4.5 year old Martina and drove into the city to meet one of my best friends who has a granddaughter the same age!  We went to the local market where we saw Erik Traplin, a wonderful local kids entertainer and then after we ate lunch and went to the playground.  It was a beautiful sunny day and there were swings and climbers and slides!  It was great and the children enjoyed them too!

 My friend, Deb took some video of the kids and we watched it after we returned to her place for lunch and beverages and we both noticed that the kids were front and centre at the show, dancing more wildly than any of the others.  We joked that the little nuts didn't all that far from the trees!   They were both, indeed,  front row and left of centre!

A few years ago, before I had the littlest girls, Deb and I followed a certain band *cough*GreatBigSea*cough* all over Ontario and parts of the US.  And we had to, and were, at every single show, front row and slightly left of centre!  It was amazing.  We got a little squished at times but we also had the ultimate musical experience at every single show!  

Today as we were joking and laughing about those time we realized that we both live all of our lives exactly that way as well!  Front and left of centre.  We both get out there and enjoy, we laugh, we swing, we jump and slide(jeans stick, wear slippery stuff btw).

Now the thing is, we never pushed our way to the front.  We got there early, lined up, we waited.  We played music and danced and had a party our own impromptu parties as we waited.   New Year's Eve 1998 we were in Niagara Falls and nearly froze  but we stuck it out.  And that show was terrific!  One of the best ones ever.  In Guelph, Ontario the rain poured and we were soaked.  It was also amazing!

Sometimes you gotta get a bit uncomfortable, sometimes you have to wait a while, sometimes you have to  laugh in the rain but life is meant to be lived and lived well.  

The trick is not to try to live in front of everybody else.  It's not competition with others that you need to strive for.  What the goal needs to be is for you to be front and centre in your  life.  To be witness to and partner in your own fantastic life.  It's not enough to merely watch it go by from somewhere in the back but to be in control of it, to be engaged with the performers before you and the audience nearby.  To dance and sing at the forefront of your own journey across this earth.  

This is a one way trip. There is only one shot at this.  And there is no program.  You are on your own.    Get the  best seat.  And every now and then, if the impulse hits, it's perfectly fine to jump up on stage and join the band.  Just keep an eye out for security!