Can You Dance on A Desk?
Honestly, I’d be afraid I would fall off. But that didn’t seem to stop actor Dick Van Dyke. You may remember him from his 1960’s sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show (if you are as old as I am), or from such movies as Mary Poppins or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Most recently he played a role in the 2018 movie, Mary Poppins Returns.
I was most impressed with his dancing for a couple of reasons. First, he was dancing on top of a desk (which I am pleased if I can just dance on a level floor – with lots of space). But secondly, this iconic actor is 93. No that is not a typo – he is really 93. But he made it look both easy and fun.
In an interview last year, he stated that he has never stopped working. “I just love it,” he says. “Retirement is a very bad idea. If you’re doing something you like doing, why retire? It doesn’t make sense.”
Now I certainly understand, if you are in a job that you can’t stand, one that diminishes you as a person – it may be time to retire from that and do something that enables you to both enjoy what you do as well as make a difference. But I know people who retire from something they love and are good at because . . . they think they are supposed to. If that describes you, you might want to reconsider. As Dick Van Dyke expressed – to retire from something you like, just “doesn’t make sense.”