5 Minute Friday - Dance ~

Joining Lisa-Jo today for Five Minute Friday ~

"Want to join our favorite free writing exercise of the week? It’s easy peasy.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat on the prompt: “Dance” with no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Please give me your best five minutes on..."

 Dance!

There is something fascinating, mesmerizing, almost magical about movement set to music. And I think I've danced most of my life, at least in one form or another. Acrobatics and contortionistic tricks, some tap, ballet, even a bit of jazz... on the floor and beam as a gymnast... messing around with synchro swimming moves just for the fun of it...

Then, as a Penn State University student needing one of those required phys ed classes, I registered for ballroom dancing because the class was held in the building about 30 yards from my dorm. It was super convenient.

I was hooked. I signed up for additional classes, waltzing into folk and square and then spinning into international. I was taking classes no longer because they were required, but because I loved the lessons I was learning.

Dance involves submitting yourself to the music - allowing it to direct when and how to move. Dancing with a partner or as part of a line or circle showed me how amazing it can be, not just to lead and be the one who stands out, but to melt into a single unit, becoming part of a coordinated, unified whole where the sum is more beautiful than the simple linking of each individual part. And there's that really practical truth - when you let the leader lead... or as leader you accept responsibility and step out to lead decisively, toes remain a lot safer. As part of a line or a circle, each is responsible to pull his own weight - yet when he stumbles, he has someone on each side to help him regain his footing - and keep on dancing.

Isn't that like life? Or at least it could be... except...

...like these photos I snapped the other day of our littlest and our latest menagerie additions, much of the time it is hard to tell who is leading who. Everyone wants to lead; no one wants, or is willing, to follow, or so it seems.

Yet just like in every dance, that beautiful potential is always there...

May we realize it more and more often.