UNITED WE DANCE
We must act together, as a united people...
For the birth of a new world.
Let there be justice for all.
Let there be peace for all.
Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.
-Patricia Young
Wow.
Wear a mask, don't wear a mask.
We should be out of quarantine aiming for herd immunity, no there's no such thing because people with antibodies can get it again.
Open businesses, close businesses.
I guess I'm used to feeling divided as a country, but now even small communities are shouting slanders at each other online and posting so called reputable sources with completely contrasting stances. It's hard to know what to believe and it's hard not to feel attacked or attack. I posted something on FB a few weeks ago, asking how I could kindly request my fellow hikers to wear a mask. In one hour I received 110 comments, debating everything from herd immunity to the economy to how long we should be quarantine. Literally I just wanted a kind way to remind people we are asked to wear masks unless 6' apart. It was horrible. I deleted it. Then I sat on my roof and cried.
What I have noticed is that when local communities come together in service of everyone's good, magic happens. Change happens.
I was leading a body-part warm up for a dance workshop last weekend, and I noticed how empowering it was to differentiate each body part. How when each body part was invited and encouraged to follow its own instinct and impulses, the range and creativity of movement was deeply satisfying.
After running through each body part, we united them all and felt how they work together as a whole, one body, in the dance, individuated yet connected, and ultimately, one whole.
Is there a way that we can allow this kind of dance to happen in our world? Is there a way that we can allow each other to be independent, unique, individual, with different opinions and openly listen and connect? Can we disagree without attacking and defending? And can we still work together, connected, interdependent, to create a world in which all beings have justice, peace, work, bread, water and salt, as Patricia Young says?
Beautiful, brave humans have been working for this since the beginning of time. You know their names. And it feels as if we're farther away from this reality than ever.
So I'm starting on the dance floor. One body part at a time, setting it free, and then falling in love with the way my body finds its unity, its wholeness, with multiple expressions.
Every part of me wants the world to be different, better, to put life and land above consumerism. I don't know how and I don't know if we'll get there, but we can taste it in our own dance. And once we've tasted it, we can bring it into our relationships, communities, and maybe watch it grow.