Dancing on the Danube

When you reach a goal or accomplish a difficult project, do you celebrate it?

My husband, Ken and I, along with eight others spent a week constructing a main building at a children’s camp in Hungary. We met our goals, working extra long hours, putting our hearts into the work. And despite aches and head colds, windy weather and old-fashioned tools, we completed what we hoped to achieve.  At the end of the week, our team leader, Harry Barrett, founder of CMI, (Creative Ministries International) arranged to take us on a dinner cruise down the Danube. This was a surprise celebration.

Waiters greeted us with trays of Schnapps and orange juice. We dined on Hungarian dishes blended with spices, sweet onion and paprika.

As the boat glided through the water at sunset we danced to old favorites, like “Moon River” with live musicians. At dusk, flood lights illuminated Budapest’s buildings along the banks, sending their long pastel reflections rippling across the water.

At one point, I said, “Hooray for Harry! Imagine dancing on the Danube.” And then I thought, Dancing on the Danube is a great acronym for celebrating your best.

Whether you’ve ever danced on the Danube River or not, doesn’t matter. What matters is that you celebrate your best work, your achievements and the proud moments of who you are.

Why is it we always make time to struggle, grieve, worry or chastise ourselves, but let our accomplishments slip by without much thought, moving on to the next project or event.

Looking back on our lives, it’s easy to see the difficult times, but how easy is it for us to see the number of times we celebrated out of pure happiness?

Take time to Dance on your Danube.