Learning To Dance

I wrote this piece maybe 10 years ago? Back in my Nick days ;) I just love how much this piece meant to me at the time when I really wanted to start an inspirational blog. I didn’t know then what would happen was transformation and character building. And now I can actually blog from a whole different perspective. Both a biblical perspective when I feel led to, and a worldly perspective when I feel compelled to. Here it is:

 

A couple of months ago, after a nice run around a nice little historic town just off campus, a friend and I decided to cool off with a nice cold tea from the starbucks on the corner. We sat there catching our breaths, and sipping our refreshing tea, in silence, for quite some time. It was peaceful, serene. It granted me a moment of clarity. I had not a thing in mind. I wasn't worrying about the upcoming exams. I wasn't muddling in the constant sludge of nothingness that some may call my love life. I simply was. I was in the present moment, and these days that can be extremely difficult to come across. 


As I sat there soaking up the ambience, I noticed the elderly man a couple tables away reading. I love to read, so I conjured up an excuse to get more sugar at the kiosk which happened to be next to his table. I proceeded to spark up a light banter about his current book of choice, and his general taste in books. We continued this conversation for a few minutes, and soon parted ways. He, back to his book. Me, back to my friend.

Time passed by, and we were on our way out the door. Standing at the corner, waiting for the crosswalk sign to give us permission to cross the two way street, the elderly man approached me. He said, "Miss, if I can tell you one thing 'true ease in writing comes from art, not chance, As those who move easiest have learned to dance."

I'm not sure if any of you have had a moment that sticks out like a sore thumb in your cascade of memories over the past few months, but this quote has done just that for me. I spent countless moments meditating on this very quote, trying to come up with some meaning for what it should mean, and why it impacted my daily routine so much. I spent hours googling and only came up with similar answers unanimoiusly agreeing that it means "work hard to achieve what you desire." I refused to believe that it could mean something so simple.

Weeks passed by, and still I questioned the depth of meaning that one could possibly find in the quote. And, one day while driving in my car, the song "life's a dance you learn as you go sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow" came on. I tried to find every correlation possible to connect the dots between the two. I understood how the song meant something personally for me, in my life (which is why I have two portaits up of those very lyrics) but I was still searching for something that would point to the grander scheme of things that would allow me to see the bigger picture.

It wasn't until a few nights ago at work, that things began to make sense, and it happened in such a peculiar way. I was struggling to mop the bar floor. As usual, I had one hand on my hip while the other jerked the mop back and forth across the vast floor. Sweat poured down my face. I let out a few exasperated sighs and groans, which must have caught the attention of my manager who looked at my with an odd grimace and darted my way.

He asked me "do you like to dance?" I replied "no, I don't dance." Truth is, the only place I will dance is in the shower or in front of a mirror, other than that my answer is always, with out exception, a stoic "no". He continued to inquire "may I teach you a dance move?" Here, I thought this man must be psycho, his questions seem a little inappropriate for a managerial position, and I'm feeling a little uncomfortable, but because of his prestige I obliged "sure."

He grabbed the mop from me and explained "when you mop the way you're mopping, it creates friction. The constant stop and go causes nothing but a harder and longer night for you. You want to work smarter, not harder. So, take this mop and dance with it. Flow with it, let it glide itself across the floor. All you have to do is direct it with hardly any force at all."

I took the mop from his hands, and I did exactly as suggested. I danced with a mop, and in this peculiar moment, it dawned on me a deeper meaning to Alexander Pope's quote "True ease in writing comes from art not chance, As those who move easiest have learned to dance."

I don't dance, which is the irony of the title of my blog. I won't be writing about dance, or learning to dance in the physical sense. I will be posting about learning to dance with life. My posts will address moments of experience as I learn to move and flow with life as it glides through time. I'm still understanding the concept of giving direction to my life rather than controlling every aspect, so I can't promise sound advice. I can promise something real to share, and perhaps relate to as I go through this journey of learning how to look at life as if it is a dance that you learn as you go where sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow.

&<3Mel