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All month I’ve been wondering to myself about my blind spots and unexplored territories, which can yawn as wide as a canyon, as wide as the sea. It’s funny that these great gaps in awareness are often the result of me putting a real squeeze on things: I can leave so little space for others, for myself, and even for the world to unroll in its way. I forget to even ask, "What's it like in your shoes?" I forget that I don't know what I don't know. I forget that I usually don't go where I usually don't go. Yet from my unwillingness to freely give space comes... wouldn't you know it... open spaces of unknowing. New spaces. Cool. As usual, I find that Gabrielle Roth, 5Rhythms creator, had a perfect and motivating way of expressing this: “What will I find on the other side of all I know?”  The other side of all I know - the empty space - is where I’d like to point my ship's compass. I don't know what's there but I know it's a good place to go. Once I’ve raised the sails, I’ll let go of the wheel and see where the wind blows.
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Why dance? Why meditate with moving feet, why rock ourselves until we’re present? Ten thousand reasons. Here’s one: revolution. When humans enter a discipline - like 5Rhythms - that asks for our expanded awareness, purposeful mindfulness, radical responsibility, and connected creativity, revolution just starts within. When we stay with a practice, revolution does come in its ways, quietly and slowly and also deafeningly and like a thunderbolt. And it naturally turns to seek its mirror, without. When we use an intentional practice to truly take care of themselves, work to become more self-aware, and deepen our capacities, we get more empowered and available. That which we ignite, explore, and grow into on the dance floor often wants to serve others, not just ourselves. When that happens, we are able to reach out. When we reach out, we find ourselves engaged. When we engage, change and the unexpected rumble in. When change rumbles in, we have an opportunity to surrender to the wild unexpected and eventually reach a new place together. We get a slightly new view of the world from our new place. And we receive a space to integrate, to put things together. To bring the world into ourselves and to combine ourselves with our world. None of these observations are news, of course. It’s all been said and done before. Which is no reason at all not to do it over and over, and again and again. When we dance we observe this old true story over and over, to our great nourishment. And yet there is fresh, radical potential in our choice to give it a go, every single time. Did you know that source of the word radical is “from the root”? When we enter a practice with intention, inner revolution may arrive at any time to take root, shoot up, blossom and cross-pollinate, bear fruit, or shed its leaves. So why not inner revolution in service of others, in service of the whole? It’s our natural inclination to yearn to put things together - to try to re-member ourselves and our reality. Why not dance, not just together, but FOR togetherness, for healing? Why not dance for revolution? I can’t think of a single reason. Let's move in support of what's needed in our communities. Here's one opportunity, this month.  |
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