Some people start thinking about New Year's resolutions in November, or December; I've always noticed that summer brings change. Maybe it's a cycle that gets imprinted during our school years when we all get a break to go off and return as someone else. We've grown and made choices about the person we want to be without the constant reinforcement of who we are to other people. Maybe we've taken a trip...maybe it's just all the sunshine.
I read this the other day:
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Free thought is tied to a free body. I had a post last year about shaking off a creative block with dance. I'm not talking about being a trained dancer -I'm talking about moving your body around because you feel like you should.
I'm not talking about Yoga (at the moment)- I'm talking about reaching up and out when you wake to the day because you feel like you should.
A friend posted a video a while ago which I was immediately drawn to.
I was shown the video again a week or so later. Now there were a number of parodies as suggested viewing on you tube. I was struck by how uncomfortable people were with the movement. They didn't know how to digest what they had seen. This illustrated to me yet again how our thoughts are tied to our body. When traditional choreography is presented it offers a framework that makes it palatable, but just feeling it - man, that can knock people over. Hhhmmm. Did you know renaissance woman, Dr. Maya Angeloustudied modern dance with Martha Graham? I'm not surprised.
"Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances."
-Maya Angelou
"Those who dance are considered insane by those who can’t hear the music."-George Carlin
"The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing"-James Brown
"I should not believe in a God who does not dance." -Friedrich Nietzsche
"Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is no mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself." -Havelock Ellis
Well, maybe you're not one to get up and shake it, at least tap your toes and smile. The worst that can happen is getting mistaken for a rebel....and from the looks of it that's pretty good company.
I'm taking a break from late night studio time. Primer is drying and I guess it's inevitable that after being bombarded with politics all day my post won't escape the topic.
I've been writing about freedom a lot this past year - defining it for myself so that I could move toward it with purpose. It became evident that it was far too easy to become entangled in a mess that amounted to nothing more than keeping our heads above water. I had to consider my choices carefully and ask some hard questions.
Interestingly enough, at the same time that the word was echoing in my head, it was also being echoed by the growing, Tea Party movement. They were gaining strength by touting a message of freedom, liberty and choice with a formula the Republican party has mastered - vagueness. Listen to three people who identify with the group and you'll get three different answers as to what it means to them - brilliant! The Tea Party has mixed up an apparently intoxicating cocktail of outrage, rebellion and patriotism shaken frequently with delightful snarking and silly sign making. All this shaking keeps you from examining what life might be like if the aspects of the Tea Party that are actually backed with some $power$ were to come to fruition.
Who wants to be tread on? Not me. Who wants to be free? We all do. How do they not see that they're serving up such tragic irony? The list of how their collective vote undermines their shaky platform is ridiculously long. Is this the movement for people who have been against movements? Are they intoxicated by the new experience? Or, have some people found ways to veil some ugly beliefs and in exchange for support of their prejudice they'll facilitate a halt on progress.
So here it is, the moment in the abusive relationship where they start to believe it will be different this time. I guess we didn't hit rock bottom. Nationalism and scapegoating weren't set aside so that the hard questions could be asked - What is liberty? I've tried to look at from different angles, but no matter how I slant it, I don't believe you'll get there without freedom from fear, health, education and the dignity of a living wage.
I hope that before this wave carries in its next ship of fools, we take the time to really ask what we want from life.
So much going on! Moments of glee, moments of dusty sweaty frustration and intermittent homesickness. I'm not sure how to feel about the melancholia; big A hasn't moved down yet, so I'm sure that's part of it, but I'm also missing my house and friends. This time of year always lets those feelings creep in. Maybe I'm looking for a reason to fit the sensation when there really isn't one. There's something about letting the sunlight fade away little by little and the air chill that dims my mood. If I was a pumpkin lovin' fuzzy sweater gal It would be easier, but alas, I'm a seasonally maladjusted sunshine and fresh cut grass lass.
Other than my melodrama, things are going quite nicely. I love the new schools and I'm very excited about decorating the new house. It's a craftsman bungalow with many of the original features from the Sears catalog - love bungalows. I already feel better now that I've found a moment to write, and it will be even better when my studio is set up.
Well, I'll just go back to staying busy as we settle in. I will aim to enjoy the strong feelings of connectedness to friends and place this situation has aroused and let the clinging flow past. I will realize the core of these emotions are beautiful and remind myself that the word we often understand as having been translated to "detachment" is more correctly translated to "the determination to be free"
