Excitement: I Won’t Stop Dancin’ Till It’s Over, and I Hope You Dance

[DISCLAIMER]

A little over a decade before I began my career as a professional provider of care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), with a primary focus on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I served in the military as a Marine Security Guard (MSG).

As the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps is the only military service which is entrusted with the responsibility of providing security for U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world, MSGs are known throughout worldwide for our big balls (vulgar term for testicles).

Additionally, for the U.S. Marine Corps Birthday (November 10, 1775), MSGs host the Marine Corps Birthday Ball at each diplomatic post across the globe. In this context, a ball is a large formal gathering for social dancing at which people have a ball (a very pleasant experience).

When serving as a member of the MSG detachment in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, I had a ball at the Ball! When looking at the GIF above, I’m reminded of excitement (an emotional state marked by enthusiasm, eagerness or anticipation, and general arousal).

In particular, I danced quite a bit back in those days. Noteworthy, my time in South America marked the height of my rave experience, as I rarely skipped an opportunity to dance in a silly fashion with the excited intention of eliciting laughter from others. Those were simpler times.

In close approximation to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball of 1999, electronic dance music (EDM) producer Michael Moog released the track “That Sound (Michael Moog’s Radio Mix)” (1999), which featured a sample of The Spinners’ song “I’ll Be Around” (1972).

Lyrics of Moog’s track include, “This sound that I hear, it’s got me open. Music so good, it keeps me jumpin’! I won’t stop dancin’ till it’s over, explosive like a supernova!” These words illustrate the excitement I experienced during my former dancing days, especially at the Ball.

Although this short blogpost doesn’t delve into REBT practice per se, I maintain that it’s worthwhile to highlight other elements of mental health from time to time. In this instance, I’m addressing excitement rather than adhering to my typical problem-problem solving paradigm.

Perhaps you aren’t excited about the ramblings of a former DJ and raver. That’s okay. It’s my life, not yours. I don’t irrationally expect that you’ll experience excitement about my metaphorical dancing from birth to death, as I won’t stop dancin’ till it’s over!

You, on the other hand, can do whatever it is that you do. Perchance you’ll sit on the proverbial edges of life’s dancefloor while others are dancing toward the grave. Sitting doesn’t sound very exciting to me. So, as Lee Ann Womack stated on her song “I Hope You Dance” (1999):

I hope you dance (Time is a wheel in constant motion, always)

I hope you dance (Rolling us along)

I hope you dance (Tell me, who wants to look back on their years and wonder)

I hope you dance (Where those years have gone?)

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As the world’s foremost EDM-influenced REBT psychotherapist—promoting content related to EDM, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters. 

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

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