My life as a cheerleader…
My life as a cheerleader….
Ok, just pulling your leg (what does that phrase actually mean?) I was never a high school cheerleader, replete with pom-poms, elevating team spirit, doing splits (OMG!) or somersaults. (No, wait a minute, I probably could have managed the somersaults.) Cheerleaders were the bubbly, perky, and popular girls. I was on the debate team and could only demonstrate my gymnastic ability by way of words, and bubbly would certainly not have been my middle name (sarcasm would.)
Got it? The years roll by. (Have you noticed how often that happens?) And a change occurs in me. I-have-BECOME-a-cheerleader. Whoa. Me! Of all people. The nerd has turned into a facile somersaulter and performer of splits??
Well, maybe not that particular version of cheerleading. However, I am happy to claim the cheerleader’s role of elevating others. Huh? Gosh, I think that’s pretty straightforward. Elevating or lifting the spirits of others. Oh no, not Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes, the person who is a goody-goody! Puhlease. Choking on that too-sweet possibility….
No, wait, I can still: curse up a storm (generally when I’m alone in my living room); very, very, rarely shoot the finger at an outrageous driver (although I’m usually dangerously low in blood sugar when that occurs); do a crappy job of responsibly dealing with my recycling; and I occasionally REALLY YELL at the purgatory of automated phone systems because I feel trapped and unheard. (Admit it. I bet you do too or at least think about it.)
And the beat goes on. Our many shared imperfections as humans.
But, for the most part, I choose to uphold my self-designated cheerleader role as an elevator of spirits and share my more vitriolic moments with just one person - myself. (That’s not really being a goody-two-shoes, is it?)
To even further buttress my case for acting as an elevator of spirits, I give you E.B. White, the author of the classic children’s book, Charlotte’s Web:
“I am often mad, but would hate to be nothing but mad: and I think I would lose what little value I may have if I were to refuse to accept the warming rays of the sun and to report them…”
That would be me, the self-christened reporter of the sun’s rays in your life (and, of course, idiosyncratically, as I perceive them.) Smile. Yeah, yeah, I’ve probably greatly oversimplified the cheerleader process of elevating spirits. Maybe it does just boil down to being nice and sharing perceived goodnesses with you. But I love the term “elevator of spirits.” Perhaps the phrase is more highfalutin, but it can also impart the rah-rah attitude that cheerleaders bring to their roles. So, when next we meet, know that I’m shaking my emotional pom-poms for you and directing words of sunlight your way.
Hey, I’d love to ask a favor of you. If your heart and funny-bone are nurtured by This Being Human Thing, please share with others. Thanks so much!