The Dance

It had been a damp night. The air was thick with humidity of mid-spring. Tiny droplets of dew began to form on the grass outside, but all else was still and quiet. All else, that is, except for her. She had not slept a wink. Overwhelmed with concerned about the state of the world and humanity as a whole, she felt the urge to fight. Nevertheless, she was completely unaware of where to direct her strength. Unequivocally, her strength was dwindling and her concern heightening with every pause, every second, every breath.

Restless and wandering, she paced back and forth. Her vibrant-expressive bedroom was the only true sanctuary she had ever known. The world had been hard on her, and many times over had tried to coarse her edges. However, she had a keen determination within herself to prevent this from happening. Even if she had lost everything, her heart is one part of her which would never falter. She felt it was the one part of her which could never cave into the fear and distrust. Although the current state of the world seemed to only offer negative emotion and turmoil, she had a quiet inner knowing that love would prevail. Love always prevails.

A momentary pause from pacing brought her to check the time. In bright shining numbers, which instantly made her pupils constrict, the time read back 4:57 am. This routine was nothing new and had actually become part of her everyday life. A restless mind causes a restless body. Her mind in particular was focused on ways to somehow make the world a better place again. A place where people feel connected to each other and their deeper purpose. She envisioned a life where others are not afraid of one another, where we can truly feel at one with our community and our spiritual nature.

We have become so distanced from nature, she thought. We’ve separated ourselves from the cycles which remind us of how there is so much more to life, and to this planet, other than the human mind itself. But alas, the mind is such a powerful thing. It is easy to lose ourselves in the fog of mental exhaust. She, however lofty it may be, is nothing but determined. Thus, during this extended night in particular, she was feeling rather persistent. This persistence to make progress extended past general dread.

Sunrise was scheduled for 5:45 am. It seemed as though inspiration was calling her forward, as if it were yearning for her presence to fill the space and take hold of the creative energies. Perhaps moved by divine will alone, she shimmied into a pair of colored leggings, a tiny yellow tank top, and a comfortable cardigan, and slid her flip-flops onto her feet. She was out the door into the cool pre-dawn air without a second glance back.

Within 15 minutes, she arrived at the familiar landscape- a small preserve with a large hill which seemed as if it sat on top of the world. It was a magical place where the soul feels free to expand and spread out, to take up as much space as it could ever yearn to do. As she ascended, her gaze brought her focus up to the waxing gibbous moon still positioned above her crown. At this moment it was still the only luminary lighting up above the surface of the earth, highlighting the dewdrops on the swaying grasses so they glistened as if made of diamonds.

Finally, she had made it to the top of the hill. Her only company, a lone oak tree which had many times before granted her shade on a hot day, and a comfortable seat to read her books. Today was no different, and as she approached she felt the similar welcoming energy in which she had experienced time and time again. Besides the innate comfort, however, she was unsure of what she was supposed to do now.

For some moments she sat and watched in awe as the sky began to slowly ignite with every color of the rainbow as the sun creeped closer to the horizon. As if instantaneously it shifted from a deep indigo, to a light navy. Then purples began to trickle in, followed by pinks and oranges. The moon began to drift downward. Before it took its hiatus from her region of the world until the following evening, she had a sudden burst to give thanks to it. She desired so deeply to show appreciation to the planets natural satellite in any way she could.

Before she knew what was happening, she was on her feet. Her body was encompassed in a movement so pure, so outside of herself and beyond her current comprehension. She no longer existed in her body, but existed as the dance itself. The dance acted as her offering, as if it were a sacred blessing of energy sent from her heart and spiraled outward to the entire world. Up to the moon, to the sun, and even further beyond. As the moon began to drop below the horizon, her dance continued. She could not help but feel an inner knowing that the bright celestial body felt her radiance as her body moved to the beat of the rising sun and awakening earth.

Bird sounds began to amplify the world. With the music she was spiraling upward, spinning, twisting, turning, dancing in every fashion in which her body would allow. The sun had just started to peak above the distant horizon, blanketing her in a golden warmth and encouraging her toward more guided and connective movement. One with the universe, she felt infinite, and an overwhelming sense of expansiveness engulfed her entire being. She was no longer dancing for herself or for the moon or for the sun, but for every living creature that lives on this planet.

She danced for all of humanity. She danced for the animals, for the insects and the amphibians. She danced for everything. Her movement encapsulated exactly what it meant to be alive, to feel alive, and to know this moment is the precise reason for existence. So many years of darkness were now being dispelled, and it felt as if she could embrace the entire planet in a warm and grateful hug, giving guidance that all is and will be well.

At the moment of this recognition, a glance toward a nearby barn told her she was not alone. Five, six, seven horses all glanced back in her direction, as if entranced by the elegant flow of her dance. The spirals once again erupted from within, except this time she was not dancing alone. In the distance, with a loud SWOOSH upon take off, a barn owl rapidly flew toward her at the top of this sacred hill. It began to follow her circular lead. Once, twice, three times the owl encircled her, flying around as if she were the rising sun itself and the owl an expeditiously orbiting planet. The motion seemed intentional, as if to tell her, “We hear you. We see you. We know you. We are with you.”

And in that moment, nothing else mattered.

In that moment, she was connected. She was infinite.

And from this point onward, anything is possible, for herself and for the world, because she now believes in the ethereal magic of existence, and she planned to share it with all who had ears to listen.