Looks like you missed yesterday's post! You know what that means... punishment time. I don't have an adequate punishment at hand, but rest assured I will find one. And post it here for you to complete. So, something to look forward to there.
Today, after a few fun and light posts, I wanted to write about something a bit more meaningful to me. I wanted to start a series of posts about things that shape my life and give it meaning and joy. When we talked about starting this blog, part of the reason I wanted to do it was to live more purposefully. To live more purposefully I want to search out what I love, share it with other people, and find a way to sneak more of it into my life. So today I want to start with the passion that made you miss your post last night!
Dance!
Last night, on a whim, we both went to a ballroom dance, lost track of time and got home after yesterday turned into today. Dance does that to me - keeps me from being tired, makes me lose track of time, and lose track of injuries or aches (and I had plenty of those last night). I think I love dance for the same reason I engage well with video games, and the same reason I love to write - I like to lose myself in stories. But more than passively observing, I like to experience and engage with those stories.
A great dance routine (be it choreographed or improvised) engages you with the music, yourself, and your partner (if you're dancing with one). Dance has been a part of almost every culture for as long as we've had a means of making rhythm and I think that's why. It's such an easy, yet profound way of telling and feeling a story. Whenever I hear music I feel an uncontrollable urge to engage with it - to not be still. When I first started dancing (very recently in life, let it be known) I felt like I had to have the perfect technique or find the right moves to tell the story, but the more I've danced the more I feel like there is no right or wrong way to do it as long as you can feel the music in your body. And as long as you don't mind looking like a buffoon. Once I came to that realization for myself dance became very accessible and while I certainly have gained better technique, a wider array of moves, and a deeper appreciation for my partners' toes, I still feel that the most important part of dancing well is dancing with feeling and intent.
And that's what I look for when I watch dance, too - a meaningful engagement with the music and the story. If there are fumbles or falters I can overlook them, but a dancer disconnected from the music and the story of the music is much harder to enjoy.
I wanted to share a few of my favorite dances with you Raven. Maybe we can get good enough to try some of them ourselves someday?
Okay... Maybe not that one.
Umm... Probably none of those either.
Maybe we'd better just stick to our own style. Ballroom dancing, making it up as we go, making a dozen mistakes, and stepping on each others' toes. Leave the crazy stuff to the pros.
Anyway, there's one of my passions in life. How about you?
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