The following is an idea.
It is a simple idea,
But one that is very real to me.
It has been revealed to me through the good times and it has been revealed to me through the hard ones.
It is as evident in the endless waves of a faraway beach as it is evident in the endless flow of traffic on a nearby street.
It is written in the movement of hummingbirds as they go about their daily affairs as it is written in the movement of the stars as they sing their eternal songs of creation.
It is quite simply that your life and that my life and that everything else in this beautiful,
Mysterious,
Impermanent game that we happen to find ourselves in is a dance.
It is a wonderful,
Amazing,
And incredibly profound dance.
So now,
The question begs itself,
What if life was in fact a dance?
What if hummingbirds and stars and waves and cars all fundamentally followed a fundamental rhythm?
What if by looking at one,
You could see the rest?
It is an interesting idea,
Isn't it?
But what if it's true?
When two opposing but complementary forces arrange themselves in a dynamic balance toward a common outcome,
They create life.
This is true at every level of existence,
And when you begin to see this dance of life at play in the hummingbirds and stars in the same way as those waves and cars,
Another very intriguing question begins to precipitate.
If life is a dance,
Then can you learn to dance it well?
If studying balance and timing and momentum and alignment and partnership are what make you a skilled dancer.
Could you also study them in such a way that you could learn to dance your way through life?
Now that's an interesting idea.
Perhaps you too can begin to see,
Just like I have,
That such principles are universal.
That your command over your own balance,
Alignment,
And momentum affects each step that you take through the choreography of your life.
That your understanding of timing will determine whether life's music offers you resistance or whether it offers you freedom.
And that your partnership skills,
Your ability to integrate both leading and following into a seamless flow,
Will determine the quality of your performance with all of those around you.
These are not just poetic metaphors.
They are truths that speak to us every single day.
In those few eternal moments at sunrise,
Or in the glory of an afternoon sunset painted across the sky by an invisible hand.
The Tao teaches us that life is movement.
That change is all that there is.
Yet in these changes,
Some things come into being while others drift away.
So,
There is something more to this old lesson.
We know that where movement creates life,
It respects the rule of two opposing forces arranged in a dynamic balance towards a common outcome.
Like two partners gliding across the floor,
Or a honeybee visiting a nearby flower.
The intent is always creative,
And it is also just for its own sake.
There is no point to dancing,
Just like you could say that there is no point to the honeybee visiting the flower or the wave crashing against the shoreline.
It is all done just for its own sake.
The point of it all is that there is no point.
In the end,
There are many reasons to dance with someone,
But the only real one is for no reason at all.
It is to enjoy the music,
To connect to something greater,
To create for the joy of creating,
And to simply just be.
To dance your way through life,
Like anything,
Takes practice.
Much like the honeybee visiting the flower,
Or the couple gliding across the floor,
It is all a practice.
So remember this simple piece of advice.
There is no destination.
Life is in the movement of things.
It is in the dancing.
And when you are faced with the spotlight,
And the music begins to play,
Though there may be judges and an audience nearby ready to give their say about who you are and what you should do,
Or countless obstacles dancing in between where you are right now and where you want to be,
Just close your eyes instead and first listen to the music.
Listen to the music of the honeybees visiting the countless flowers and to the wings of all those hummingbirds flapping in fantastic unison.
Listen to the gentle lullaby of every single beach,
Superimposed with the symphony of every car and its variety of noises.
Listen with more than just your ears,
And above all,
Listen for that which has no sound.
Our technique as dancers will always improve,
Allowing us to create increasingly beautiful and interesting things.
Yet,
Just like a real dance,
First and foremost you must listen to the music.
When you listen and hear the dance of life,
You remember.
When you remember,
You return your alignment.
And when you're in proper alignment,
There is no resistance,
And dancing becomes possible.
Can you see it yet?
There are many things that move,
But not all of them dance.
Learn first to listen to the music,
And then continually hone your practice of the basics,
Never forgetting that this is a game for which the point is that there is no point,
And in which the only way to win is to just keep playing.
This is what it means to dance your way through life.
It is an interesting idea,
Isn't it?
