As Cindy Lauper knows and has been telling us since 1984, girls just want to have fun. It’s not complicated. But as with golf swings, breathing and standing still, humans have made the most simple thing, hard. This is a particular trait of the human being. You don’t hear of a lion wondering if it pounced a bit higher if the girl lions would look at him more favourably. I’m pretty sure lions do not care all that much, as long as they get the kill and the girls know where he likes to eat dinner. The rest of the story is pretty straightforward. No-one even has to clean their teeth! But I’m not writing about lion dating this time around. My point is making time to have ‘fun’ today is harder than ever, especially without the help of Cindi’s dance moves, tutu, strobe lighting and a shock of orange hair. You've gotta admit, for rangas, those red headed lions just own it.
In the 21st century a girl cannot rest on her laurels. She must fight for her right to have time to do nothing. When she is done being the best she can be; having it all; developing her ‘personal brand’ and sharing it simultaneously across multiple social media platforms; drinking 8 glasses of water a day; eating 5 veg and 3 fruit; being ever vigilant for the evils of gluten in all its hidden forms; ingesting enough kale/spirulina/dolphin milk; sweating for 20 minutes a day; looking hot; being cool; managing her dating profile to attract potential future boyfriends who may or may not actually exist; avoiding the shame of being too alpha; ‘leaning-in’ enough to be heard; leaning out enough to reassure her manager her womb is not a corporate liability; doing housework; paying bills; carving out her niche; being feminine; being fashionable; being earth goddess; being an uber-city chicster; searching globally; shopping locally; saving money for her long life expectancy outliving all the men; being aware of all around her; dancing like no one is watching (Bianca, that one is for you – lol!) hurrying up to have the baby/family/husband/mortgage; slowing down to enjoy the moment; being independent; asking for help; catching up on iview; aligning her shakras; perfecting her pout and washing her hair….. then she can have some fun.
Has it ever struck you just how exhausting and unnecessary all the implicit and explicit demands of modern life are? Some of us just read the first few lines of that and book ourselves a ticket to a warm place with interesting stuff a couple of friends and a national park. And so it is, a month after returning from India, I’m headed to Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. Full of aboriginal people, greenery, stubbie shorts, cold beer, crocodiles and other off-the beaten track characters who just wanna have fun. Pack your tutu. It’s gonna be … well, ‘authentically’ something.
For new readers, I wrote a blog about doing yoga in the authentic tradition in India, which turned out to be both more and less ‘authentic’ than I expected. Professionally I work with indigenous people helping them set up and promote tourism businesses in Australia and this is another place expectations arise from tourists about the experience they will have, how authentic it will be, and from indigenous people about how or if they will make money, give tourists what they need, but not always what they want, and what that future might create.
In the 21st century a girl cannot rest on her laurels. She must fight for her right to have time to do nothing. When she is done being the best she can be; having it all; developing her ‘personal brand’ and sharing it simultaneously across multiple social media platforms; drinking 8 glasses of water a day; eating 5 veg and 3 fruit; being ever vigilant for the evils of gluten in all its hidden forms; ingesting enough kale/spirulina/dolphin milk; sweating for 20 minutes a day; looking hot; being cool; managing her dating profile to attract potential future boyfriends who may or may not actually exist; avoiding the shame of being too alpha; ‘leaning-in’ enough to be heard; leaning out enough to reassure her manager her womb is not a corporate liability; doing housework; paying bills; carving out her niche; being feminine; being fashionable; being earth goddess; being an uber-city chicster; searching globally; shopping locally; saving money for her long life expectancy outliving all the men; being aware of all around her; dancing like no one is watching (Bianca, that one is for you – lol!) hurrying up to have the baby/family/husband/mortgage; slowing down to enjoy the moment; being independent; asking for help; catching up on iview; aligning her shakras; perfecting her pout and washing her hair….. then she can have some fun.
Has it ever struck you just how exhausting and unnecessary all the implicit and explicit demands of modern life are? Some of us just read the first few lines of that and book ourselves a ticket to a warm place with interesting stuff a couple of friends and a national park. And so it is, a month after returning from India, I’m headed to Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. Full of aboriginal people, greenery, stubbie shorts, cold beer, crocodiles and other off-the beaten track characters who just wanna have fun. Pack your tutu. It’s gonna be … well, ‘authentically’ something.
For new readers, I wrote a blog about doing yoga in the authentic tradition in India, which turned out to be both more and less ‘authentic’ than I expected. Professionally I work with indigenous people helping them set up and promote tourism businesses in Australia and this is another place expectations arise from tourists about the experience they will have, how authentic it will be, and from indigenous people about how or if they will make money, give tourists what they need, but not always what they want, and what that future might create.
But surely Kakadu is just like any other tropical jungle with local indigenous people living near a uranium mine site in the sweltering build-up season, right? Walk in the park.
