Hard Times Require Furious Dancing
Los tiempos difíciles requieren bailar frenéticamente--por Alice Walker
Soy la más pequeña de ocho hermanos. Cinco de nosotros han muerto. Comparto pérdidas, problemas de salud y otros desafíos comunes a la condición humana, especialmente en estos tiempos de guerra, pobreza, devastación ambiental y avaricia que van más allá de la imaginación más creativa. A veces todo esto resulta demasiado como para soportarlo. Fui una persona con depresiones profundas periódicas, un signo de sufrimiento mental en mi familia que ha afectado a cada herman@ de manera diferente, y he madurado en alguien que nunca soñé que sería: una optimista desenfrenada que ve el vaso siempre lleno de algo. Puede estar medio lleno de agua, precioso en sí mismo, pero en la otra mitad hay un arco iris que solo podría existir en el espacio vacío.
He aprendido a bailar
No es que no supiera bailar antes; tod@s en mi comunidad sabían bailar, incluso aquellos con varios pies izquierdos. Simplemente no sabía lo básico que es para mantener el equilibrio. Que los africanos siempre estén bailando (en sus ceremonias y rituales) muestra una conciencia de esto. Un día me sorprendió, mientras bailaba, saber que los maravillosos movimientos por los que los afroamericanos son famosos en la pista de baile se produjeron porque los bailarines, especialmente en los viejos tiempos, estaban retorciendo varios nudos de estrés. Algunos de los movimientos de la parte baja de la espalda que nos han parecido simplemente sensuales, sin duda, se crearon después de un día de trabajo inclinado sobre un arado o una azada en la plantación de un conductor de esclavos.
Deseando honrar el papel de la danza en la curación de familias, comunidades y naciones, contraté un salón local y una banda local e invité a amig@s y familiares de cerca y de lejos a unirnos, en Acción de Gracias, para bailar nuestras penas, o al menos para integrarlas más suavemente en nuestra existencia diaria. La siguiente generación de mi familia, lamentando la reciente muerte de una madre, mi cuñada, creó un animado baile en línea que me reafirmó en la idea de que, aunque tod@s hemos encontrado nuestra parte de dolor y problemas, todavía podemos mantener la línea de la belleza, la forma y el ritmo: un logro no pequeño en un mundo tan desafiante como este.
Los tiempos difíciles requieren un baile frenético. Cada un@ de nosotr@s somos la prueba.
Preguntas semilla para la reflexión: ¿Qué significa para ti aprender a bailar? ¿Puedes compartir una historia personal de una época en la que mantuviste la línea de la belleza, la forma y la superación del dolor y los problemas? ¿Qué te ayuda a mantenerte al tanto de tu equilibrio para poder mantenerlo?
Alice Walker es autora, poeta, novelista y activista ganadora del premio Pulitzer. El pasaje anterior es del prefacio de su libro de poemas: "Los tiempos difíciles requieren bailar frenéticamente".
Alice Walker is a Pulitzer-winning author, poet, novelist, and activist. The passage above is from the preface of her book of poems: "Hard Times Require Furious Dancing".
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What does learning to dance mean to you? Can you share a personal story of a time when you held the line of beauty, form and beat through grief and troubles? What helps you stay aware of your balance so you can maintain it?
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11 Past Reflections
On Jul 1, 2020 abbe rolnick wrote :
As a child, I'd close my eyes and move to the music. I didn't know that this was dancing, only that my body felt the rhythms. Fast, slow, furious, passionate, sincere, quiet. Without labels, I was able to tap into the universe, feel all that was, is and would probably be. Later my best friend would play the piano at college late at night and I'd close my eyes and move my body to her music. We took a slice out of time to express our inner selves. I can't sing, play an instrument, but I write and I dance as a way to connect with the universal emotions of all inhabitants. I too have had my share of losses, cancer, divorce, emotional struggles, pain of abuse. I too have had my share of joys, motherhood, education, service to the community, and deep relationships with family, friends, and mother nature. I still hear the rhythmsof the wind, the horses as the neigh, the pattern of the woodpecker, the blob of the frog as it enters the pond. I close my eyes and take a slice of t... [View Full Comment]
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On Sep 11, 2019 Kristy wrote :
I love this essay. I dance almost every morning it centers, energizes, awakens and brings me hope and gratitude for the fact that I get one more day to be of service to the greater good.
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On Sep 11, 2019 RUBY wrote :
Life cannot be joyful all the time. Suffering and pain is unavoidable. I try to dance away my misfortunes. It is equally rewarding to experience losses. I grow, become deeper in perspective, appreciate the paradoxes, and become complete. I am fearless, courageous to have transitioned from a man into a beautiful women. I have lived in luxury, as well as slept in the mountains without a blanket in freezing cold, crying to God is that all the suffering there is? Having lived as a man, now as a woman, I discriminate against none, I am like God, I have a complete experience of a life and a person in many and any form!. Unlike others, I am not going to die with half experience. In the process, I have come to understand society the best since it has to treat me in new ways they never understand! Some get deeply enlightened and inspired to broaden their own existence before they perish = they are ready to dance. Some run away in hate, animosity, or to protect their squirrel hole because it is ... [View Full Comment]
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On Sep 10, 2019 Susan Starkey wrote :
So true! My brother-in-law and I were just talking minutes ago ( a nice synchronicity ) about the joy of connecting with a stranger on the dance floor and having the flow of it all lift everyone’s spirits. I need this message today as I realize I’m in a place of mourning- for the future of Earth and all her inhabitants, and I realize I want to learn to live in acceptance of this reality. So- I’ve Gotta go- gotta Dance now!
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On Sep 10, 2019 jacqueline wrote :
Dancing silences the minds constant chattering - it’s a kind of meditation. Learning to dance improves focus, posture, energy levels plus the ability to be in the moment.
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On Sep 8, 2019 David Doane wrote :
The glass is always full of something, and the value of what's there is defined by the glass holder. Learning to dance means learning to be in the present, enjoy the process, be ongoingly responsive to what is happening, not be goal directed, and not worry about what others think. When a dear mentor died, I had a dream in which he gave me a master program -- in the dream someone tried to take it back and I held onto it. What I got from him was a master program, and much of what I learned from him about living has helped me hold the line of beauty, form and beat through the ups and downs of life. Factors that help me stay aware of my balance include knowing how good balance feels, knowing that balance is moment by moment, knowing how easily balance is lost, knowing that maintaining balance requires constant adjustment, knowing that I don't enjoy loss of balance.
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On Sep 6, 2019 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
Life is a balancing act. It's like a string of a string instrument. If you stretch it too hard, it will break. If you keep it too lose, it will not make a sound. Like all of us I have felt thousands of joys and thousands of sorrows; thousands of ups and thousands of downs. I have learned the art of being mindful of the swings of energy I am experiencing in my body and mind, acknowledge it and flow with it without getting stuck with it or frozen by it. In the Yoga system is called Samatva Yoga- Path of Equanimity.
We all go through different kinds of losses. There are times when I have found them too muchto bear. When I saw my parents, brothers and sisters passing away right in front of my eyes, it was very hard for me to maintain the equanimity and balance. Each passing away has taught me to
be aware of the gifts each one of them had given to me from their heart. Holding such precious gifts of love in my heart and feeling grateful to them have enriched my life with love, joy and g... [View Full Comment]