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Welcome to this issue of Simply Celebrate:

* As Simple as "Yes"
* The Simplest of Celebrations
* Simple Words
* Mailbox
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Something amazing and life-changing happened the other night.

I wore a dress I wanted to wear.

That's it. It was that small. And that life-changing.

I was getting dressed for a swing dance class I'm taking with my beau. I was feeling kind of spunky and fun. Sexy and sassy. When I looked into my closet to see what to wear, I kept gravitating toward my favorite "little black dress." This one is kind of loose, a little flapper-ish feeling. Sheer, light material. Feels like chiffon. Like clouds. Like swimming in the ocean.

I kept reaching for the dress and then moving on to find something else. After all, this is my "good" dress. It's what I might wear on New Year's Eve or to a special party. I was only going to swing dance class. Most of the participants just wear jeans or plain skirts. It's not a place where people dress up.

I was telling myself things like, "You can't wear that dress; you'll seem too showy." "You don't want to stand out, do you?" "You need to tone it down. Find something more simple to wear."

I put on a skirt and blouse that I like. But it felt so frumpy for some reason. Too tight here, too loose there. Not right. I put on some slacks and a shirt that I like. But they, too felt ill-fitting for some reason. I pulled a lot of clothes out of the closet, tried them on, and hated the way they felt. Tried-and-discarded clothes were strewn all over the room.

Then I sat on the bed, naked, all the spunk and sass drained out of me. I felt tired and dull.

I heard a voice in my head say, "If this were the last day of your life, what would you wear tonight?"

I went back to the closet and put on the little black flappery-chiffony dress. I went to my hat rack and pulled off the vintage embroidered hat that someone, years ago, had sewn glittering jewels all over, to give it this wonderful sparkle. I wore sheer, thin stockings and a favorite bangle. I felt a rush of energy and joy. I felt intoxicated. I felt like I was going to a party.

I was.

My life.

When my beau picked me up, he was over the top with affection and compliments. I was beaming throughout the class. Folks in the class were smiling at me and telling me how much they liked my look. It felt like everyone was laughing and having more fun that usual. The whole evening unfolded in a way that felt bathed in some magical light, some storybook romance. It was that "like a Hollywood movie" feeling. Lights-camera-action. All aglow.

It wasn't the dress. Or the hat. Or jewels. Or the stockings. It wasn't the glittery gold bag I grabbed at the last minute to throw my favorite lipstick into.

I think it was simply the energy of the moment, allowed to exist. The not-squashing.

I think what happened that night was that I was able to hear the voices in my head telling me to "tone it down" and "get with the program" and "not stand out." I was able to not believe them. I was able to remember, thanks to grace or practice or whatever, that in fact, this could be the last day of my life. And even if it weren't, it certainly is one of a limited number of days I have to walk on this earth and wear clothes I love and eat peaches and spritz with perfume and hear jazz music and dance in the arms of someone I love. What happened that night is I let myself slip fully into the life that wanted to be lived.

It's as simple as, "yes."

Will you experiment with this? Just for today. Maybe just for an hour, even. Is there something you want that a part of you tells you that you can't have? An impulse to take a walk in the sun? Want to call your old college roommate? Listen to a song you love over and over? Can you let yourself have it, do it, sing it, wear it, eat it? Say yes to something, right now. And watch the energy of the moment when you hear yourself say, "yes."

To affect the quality of the day; that is the art of life.
-Henry David Thoreau

Live all you can; it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven't had that what have you?
-James, Henry

If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.
-Dr. Seuss

June's issue was about remembering to laugh at the chattering squirrels in our heads. Do you hear any now? Don't believe 'em!

I couldn't have received this ezine at a better time. Just perfectly coincides with some chattering squirrels in my mind after a meeting I had a couple of hours ago. Now I'm laughing and totally over it.
—Liz

What a wonderful treat to receive this newsletter out of the blue. I haven't laughed in a long time, that dratted squirrel in my head! So I got some laughs, a reminder to enjoy every moment, and that mysterious mantra - "and then afterwards, we laughed." Just what I needed today to set me back on course. It is so easy to see from the outside that everything happens just on time!
—Nancy

I went to Laughter Yoga a couple months ago. It was a bit odd and seemed fake at first, but sure enough when you get rolling it works. And you know how silly looking some of those yoga positions are!
-Christina

Thank you for the reminder to laugh, and for the even bigger message which is that I am not alone with all my squirrels.
—Maya


Will you write to me and tell me your experiences with saying yes to yourself. I love to hear from you.

Sherry Richert Belul
Simply Celebrate
Sherry@SimplyCelebrate.net
3219 Mission St., #3
San Francisco, CA 94110-5029


Copyright 2007 Sherry Richert Belul, Simply Celebrate

Sherry@SimplyCelebrate.net

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Reprinted from "Simply Celebrate," a free email newsletter by Sherry Richert Belul, Copyright 2007.

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