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Thursday, June 28, 2012

"20 seconds of courage" or "I just want to do a dance"

In the past few years, several dancers have approached me with the charge:
Dancer: "I want to do a dance. Will you help me?"
Me: Sure!
Dancer: "Great! (pause) Thanks. Um... when should we start?"
Me: Why do you want to do this?
Dancer: "Um..."
Me: Think about it. Let's meet on....
....Arrives.
Me: So, why do you want to do this?
Dancer: .......

I've received many responses to this question. Often times, I'm provided with tears. And that's enough information. There's something unspoken that needs to be communicated. Something that can't be spoken, but needs to be shared. I get it. Okay.

Let's start.

One such dancer provided me with music from the movie "We Bought a Zoo." I had never heard of the movie, but she insisted that it resonated with her. While I'm not a fan of dancing to movie soundtracks, or popular music in general, this was not my dance. So, together, we embarked on a journey of creation.

Disclaimer: I'm human. And I get attached. Many years ago I was filling out one of those "All About Me" books for a friend and one of the questions was "What do you collect?" My friend's response was "Little plastic bags." My response was "Memories and people."

So, when this dancer told me that "We Bought a Zoo" was an important movie, I held onto that. For a long time. And only just recently watched it. (And cried through most of it.... a good cry). Matt Damon's character has several moments when "20 seconds of courage" is "all you need" and can make all of the difference in the next chapter of one's life. This is one of my new prompts... when stepping into a new situation or a familiar one that can still be a little scary because it's important to me. And I sometimes get nervous about things that are important to me. Kun-Yang says that's okay, just not to let the nerves show or get the better of me. Or prohibit me from doing that thing. Enter the 20 seconds of courage.

I appreciate those dancers that suggested I explore "We Bought a Zoo." And I challenge myself and you, dear reader, to really do that thing that you would do within those 20 seconds of courage.

Perhaps that's to make a dance.


1 comment:

  1. Dancing in and of itself cannot make us happy. The root of our happiness comes from our relationship with ourselves. thanks for providing this useful post about 20 seconds of courage" or "I just want to do a dance".






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