More Than A Dance

This past weekend both of my daughters performed in their end-of-year dance recital at The Grand Theatre. Of course, like all parents, my husband and I were bubbling over with pride as we watched our girls dance on stage, admiring how confident they are becoming. What's interesting is every year I have this overwhelming feeling of my heart opening up and spilling everywhere as I watch dance act, after dance act hit the stage. What is it about watching these young people dance on stage that makes me want to sob? I asked myself as I watched the sequins and ruffles twirl across the stage. My Truth answered.

On that stage is innocence wrapped in joy, the way the human spirit is meant to show up in the world.  These beautiful children on stage are knocking on a door to something that is locked deep within us: cooperation, collaboration, shared vision. With every synchronized movement they remind us of how much we human beings thrive in harmony. Even the dancer who struggles to keep up is still working in collaboration with the rest of the group and that's why the performance never falls apart. In harmony there is bravery, beauty and focus. When I see this in action on the stage, it makes me long for humanity to "just get along". It gives me hope that we can get it right. It's a complicated dance, but with practice, anything is possible.

It seems when we lost our tribes and clans, we also lost our harmony. Materialism has inhibited our ability to create visions for the higher and greater good, which makes hearing one song difficult, let alone attempting to dance together. Without a big, single vision and without taking the time to learn how to dance together, we end up looking like a bunch of drunken college kids dancing at a bar. It seems like fun in the moment, but its not taking us any where constructive and the morning after always hurts. All we can do is start from where we are: find a song to dance to that elevates our lives and the lives of others and never take our attention off of that tune. Make up our dance, practice and persevere, but whatever we do, we mustn't stop dancing. We need to build our strength, endurance and confidence so when our dance is complete, we can show our families, our friends, our neighbours, our community; bringing harmony where ever we go through love, compassion, patience and understanding.

I guess a dance isn't just a dance. Hopefully I won't embarrass my children by sobbing at next year's recital.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

photo credit: stock.xchng

Maya Angelou once wrote an autobiography by the same title– a fascinating book that you should read if you haven't already, but that isn't what inspired this post.

No, it was reading the following words from Buddhist monk, Nichiren Daishonin:

"When a caged bird sings, birds who are flying in the sky are thereby summoned and gather around, and when the birds flying in the sky gather around, the bird in the cage strives to get out."

It is the amount of truth in this metaphor that renders its power. The "truth" being that if we can just stay close to our true nature, if we can continue to uplift others and create beauty despite our own suffering or limitations, our courage will be inspired and strengthened so we may break free and improve our own life circumstances.

And even when we are not aware of our substandard life– because a cage may be all we've ever known– if we continue to strive to add value to the world around us, new possibilities will come into view. They will inspire and motivate us to stretch beyond our current way of being, until one day we have found a way out of our cage... out of our small lives... allowing us to experience a freedom we've never known before, turning our ignorance into a spectacle for us to observe.

And the ones who are free... they are bound to the ones who are not. The joy they feel as their wings spread and carry them to new lands is never taken for granted. It is something they cannot withhold from others. All they need is to hear a song from a cage.

You CAN change the world

"Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere."

-President Barack Obama


Shortly after I graduated and began my first career as a school teacher, I remember having this overwhelming feeling that somehow I could change the world; that I was unstoppable. Of course, that was before I knew about bureaucratic barriers. It didn't take long before my naive optimism was squashed out of me and I resigned to a life of mediocrity. I decided that I was powerless; my pulse slowed down, my fire turned to glowing embers. My new mantra became "Why bother?"

If you are living or ever have lived by that mantra, you understand the ways in which your life suddenly turns gray and you begin to live vicariously through larger than life characters in books or on screens.

It was only a matter of time before my residency in the wasteland of mediocrity became dissatisfying. My hiding place was discovered by my spirit and my first born child. I had no choice but to try again.This time around, I realize that leaving your mark isn't so much about the mark itself as it is about the type of person you have to become and the vision you have to guide you.

Mr. Gandhi was right.To create any significant change in the world first requires a significant change within. The biggest changes often involve overcoming multiple fears. Fear of loss. Fear of rejection. Fear of persecution... and the list goes on and on. In fact, I'm not sure the list is ever exhausted. And you can guarantee, where there is fear, feelings of inadequacy also exist. 

Nobody likes to feel inadequate, but without feeling less than capable we wouldn't need to grow. It is where one of life's many forks in the road exists: grow bigger than you are right now, or shrink so you can remain comfortable–for now. I guess you could also choose to not to choose. I wouldn't recommend that option though, I've tried it and I just ended up standing at the junction complaining because I was uncomfortable. It's not fun. But what I now know is nothing... I repeat; nothing feels more epic than overcoming a fear that has been holding you back from living to your fullest potential or becoming proficient at something you once floundered at.

When I was younger I took the comfortable road. Maybe I didn't believe enough in my vision to fight for it. Or maybe I had realized if I fought for it I might not win... and then what? Perhaps my vision was weak and incomplete. Whatever the reason, I needed my flame to peter out so I could build a better fire. Now, when I feel the slightest loss in momentum,  I either fine tune my vision, change my approach, take a break, regroup... I'm not giving up. Not this time.

As Barack says, making your mark is not easy and it does take patience, commitment and a willingness to fail. It is a true test of your vision. I believe a great vision will always see you through and the feet of the person you are becoming will eventually get you there.