A Year of Authentic Movement
It is a New Year. Here we go … the familiar choreography of setting new goals and new intentions; tossing out old habits and throwing off leashes of the past, limitations that may have steered us wrong or weighed us down. A clean slate, a blank page, a fresh canvas, an empty stage. What will we make of this year?
My wiser-self reminds me to go easy; easy does it… one day at a time. The child in me, with wild hair and bouncing creativity, is ready to spring, pounce, and explode all over the place, leaving color and paste on every square inch of my world and yours. Between the two I find a sweet path to tread, one of discipline and joy, exploring my authentic self each day and excited to see what the Universe has in store for me.
If there is any word that I could choose for this year of 2019 it would be AUTHENTIC. The real thing. The dirt under your nails from digging in, the crack in your heart from the experience of trying, the flecks of life in your eyes that sparkle and dim simultaneously, the stretch in your skin from reaching for that and smiling at this, the muscles in your back from maintaining your position, all of these things and more that show up with us, authentically. If one were to put "authentic" into movement what would it look like? How would we, could we, move “authentically”? Would we think about it, would we just feel it, or would it decide for us? Why not try … try to move authentically? Why not explore oneself, the depth of oneself, through movement? And why not do it often? What would come of such a practice – a practice of meeting our true-self on the dance floor, on the mat, at the barre, on the pavement, in our beds. What could come of it? Let’s try it. What harm could it do?
(Pollyanna alert) As I write that, I am reminded of what Voltaire stated, with tongue in cheek, at a time of revolution: “Let us read and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world." Ha! In other words – there is great potential to create change through our own exploration of words and movement - good or bad. Allow us to do so for the greater good. Our world is constantly changing, often in pain as well as in splendor. Can you see how even the world is dancing authentically, as itself? The world, with all of its woes and exhilaration, rises and falls, swells and diminishes, repeating itself again and again in a rhythm, is very much like a body in authentic expressive motion. Perhaps if we were to tune into our own authentic way of moving, we could meet the world at its center, influence its core as we influence our own, and in time change things for the better. Let's move ... authentically. 😉