"One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless surrendered." ~ Michael J. Fox
The month of August ends with reflections on human dignity - the grace that dignity offers those who are blessed to know what it is - and the sadness of realizing not everyone does.
Photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul." ~ Walt Whitman
While taking a break from writing in this blog, I have still been doing plenty of reflecting. This is not the first time I have emphasized just how important it is to embrace and value our Spiritual paths - and yes, derive Courage from them - Spiritual Courage. Every day, it becomes more important.
The irony of it all is Spirituality itself - actual Reality - is far stronger than anything that denies its existence. One of the great tragedies of our times, and of Humanity's current situation, is our lack of Spiritual honesty and development. Had we been expansive enough to open ourselves up, we would be in a far different place. Thankfully, there's still time.
To hear more about this topic, several recent broadcasts of The Frontier Beyond Fear have had a great deal to say, including today's episode Love and Miracles. Visit the entire archive here: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/susan-larison-danz - you can also Follow the program from this page to be notified of new episodes. Live shows are just about every Saturday at 1 PM PDT / 4 PM EDT. I may not be writing as much here, lately, but I've had plenty to say . . .
Window Well Daffodil Photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Taking a break can lead to breakthroughs." ~ Russell Eric Dobda
I've had a note next to me on my table to write a blog post before June ends. So here it is I'm blogging as the night draws to a close.
I needed to take a break, and perhaps still do.
Writing takes us where it will.
Bird, Suspended Photo by Susan Larison Danz
"Use the Force, Luke....Let go!" ~ Obi Wan Kenobi, Star Wars
Given it is May the 4th, Star Wars Day, it is the perfect time for an important reminder, one that had a lasting impact I could only just begin to glimpse when I first encountered it in 1977. I could spend some time talking about what it was like in 1977 to view the first movie in a spectacular old-school "Cinerama" theater, one of the best, I would wager (even though Cinerama was no longer used in 1977). Oh yes, my first encounter with Star Wars was an all-encompassing experience - and everything about it.
My older brother had gone to see it with my mother on opening day, while I was at school in junior high - he had seen an article about it in Time and they decided to go to the first showing - apparently it was very easy to get into that day, even at this wonderful, unparalleled theater that no longer exists (like most theaters like that). My mother was not one to stand in line at movies, and they didn't expect a line - they were simply going to a movie together that was supposed to be good. He told me later I would like it, and that it was about a princess.
That's not why I liked it. I'm not even sure I knew yet why I not only liked it - I loved it - and I did everything I could to see it again and again after that first viewing. It changed my relationship with the movies forever, but not just that. I already had a regular relationship with magical stories by that age.
Luke taught me something. Something important. Something I'd need quite a bit later in life. He didn't trust at first. He didn't believe. I was never a skeptic like Luke and some people, not even as a child or a teen. He didn't believe any of it - at first.
But what he ultimately demonstrated for all of us in that first film (and let's not confuse it with its later renumbering - for those of us who saw it first, it was the first), was Trust. It wasn't total Trust, not exactly - but it was enough in the moment.
A sudden flash of Trust that astonished and at first alarmed others, just about everyone else in his immediate circle, some of whom claimed to believe in it, but not yet enough. In panic, they asked him why his computer was off. Wouldn't he NEED THAT???? Actually, no. It was a hindrance to what it was he needed to do, and he had guidance far better.
Some people claim to believe in the Force, just as it is described in Star Wars. The Force was always far too "mechanical" for me. The Real Force is much more Loving and Mysterious - it too invites us to Trust. Every single day, it is asking us to Trust, even those like Luke who may not believe in it completely (that's a tall order!) and there are always those searing, misguided skeptics who try to scuttle the thing, but they'd know it as well, if they could see it.
When you see it, when you see what this is, when you see how "impossibly" Magical and Miraculous (and Loving!) it actually is, there is no more skepticism. You simply know. You may not know everything about what this is - but you surely do know something's happening.
Luke's Trust (with the help of some insistent Guidance) saved the day. He still used technology, though one could argue it is ultimately extraneous - and everything changed.
The same can happen for us. I'm thankful to Star Wars for not exactly planting a seed, as I was no stranger to Magical stories, but for doing whatever it did, in the way that it did it. It changed me forever, I sense. It only becomes more necessary and important as the years unfold. And like Luke, many of us continue to learn. I believe what this IS is entirely capable of saving our day as well. And I also sense we are going to need it.
"Nature is made to conspire with spirit to emancipate us." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Listen to today's broadcast of The Frontier Beyond Fear here: It's May
This program includes quotes from several authors, including L.M. Montgomery, Geoffrey Chaucer, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson and Percy Bysshe Shelley - plus reflections about movies such as Camelot and Maytime.
Spring photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"...the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." ~ Albert Einstein
"What the world needs now is love, sweet love..." ~ Jackie DeShannon
What if Unconditional Love was at the Center?
Everything would change.
"Give the world the gift of YOU. Be yourself." ~ Susan Larison Danz
When I was a young child in the early 70's, I remember a television special (I think it was on television, anyway) with the title Free to Be You and Me. I can't quite remember it, and I think I only saw it once, but the title and overall feeling of whatever this was made such an impression on my young mind and heart that I never forgot how it felt.
I looked it up just now, and I really don't think I ever have. There are all sorts of entries. I vaguely recall music. I do remember Marlo Thomas, smiling.
But most of all, I remember the words: Free to Be You and Me
It was joyful and exuberant, as I recall. It felt like a celebration. It still has much to teach us.
Hat photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Where have all the flowers gone?" ~ Pete Seeger
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| Redwood Logging Train (early 1900's), Public Domain |
I know we all know this, to some degree or another, and I did, too - but I was rather spontaneously watching a program on PBS about the Redwood Forest in Calfornia earlier today, and in passing, it was stated that 95% of the original forest was cut down.
Within the past hour, something came across my Facebook feed about buffalo herds, how the remaining herds all came from less than 2 dozen left, originating from Chicago in 1900, after the others were slaughtered.
And then I saw a random post on Twitter from Elon Musk - actually it was a reply to a post from Elon Musk that just happened to flash by. The original post stated that some day when we become "multiplanetary" (more on this in a moment), it may be that species that disappear on Earth could still be on Mars. Someone responded, saying maybe we should stay home and take care of the Earth and watch Star Trek instead.
And then I was thinking about the old 1970's movie Silent Running, in which a spacefaring horticulturist is attempting to preserve plants from Earth (with the help of some little robots, which at one point I heard partially inspired R2D2).
As far as "multiplanetary" goes, how tragic it is that we are placing all our focus on "multiplanetary" instead of multidimensional. If we would focus our expansion on the latter, everything becomes possible (including "multiplanetary" and this planet, and the fates of the people who live on it). But we just keep on with the same old path which led to decimated Redwoods and disappearing buffalo herds. If we don't learn very soon, there won't be any planets Humanity will inhabit. We'll find another way, and do, but how sad our misguided materialism is metastasizing.
"Love never fails." ~ 1 Corinthians 13
It's time to revisit 1 Corinthians 13, the Love Chapter. Why? Because Love is the Answer. What 1 Corinthians 13 has to say tells us everything we need to know about what we need to be focusing on right now in the world. It doesn't matter what your spiritual background may be - 1 Corinthians 13 has something important to say to you. Love never fails.
Saturday at 1 PM PDT/4 PM EDT, listen live to 1 Corinthians 13: Love is the Answer on The Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast, or to the podcast afterwards at the same link.
Heart on Trail photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Love can never lead you astray. Trust Love to guide you Home." ~ Susan Larison Danz
Sometimes we find ourselves repeating the word: Trust. There are many things that happen in the world which undermine trust. As human beings, we fail. But we must never give up. Because Trust is worth it.
Blue Skies photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." ~ Yoda
As I write, I'm listening to someone talking about AI on the radio. We hear so often from people who have a strictly materialistic, non-spiritual view of reality who claim that it is possible to essentially duplicate, read or preserve your mind using mechanistic means. The entire assumption (and it absolutely is an assumption) is based on an unproven premise about Reality, of course.
Anyone who has seen evidence of Spirituality knows we cannot be "contained" in this way - because we aren't what "they" think we are, no matter how arrogantly they proclaim it. How sad they're missing out on actual Awareness - but there is always a chance to discover it. There are so many more "useful" things we could be studying.
We yearn for immortality, it seems, but if they could create what they seek, they would be trapped, not freed, not forever of course, as that's impossible, but in ways that are unnatural - and undesirable. We aren't intended to be trapped. This state is temporary.
Our minds are not our Souls. It's like grasping for a rope at the edge of a cliff when we can fly.
Light Reflected photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Start a love train, love train..." ~ The O'Jays
Love is the only way forward.
There was never any other way, really.
Love is the way.
"Surrendering your authenticity to be heard is ironically the path to silencing your voice." ~ Susan Larison Danz
When we're aware of it, we tend to revisit it, again and again and again. And as we learn and grow and go deeper, it goes deeper, too.
Authenticity.
It meets us where we are, if we allow it - or perhaps we meet it in the middle - or sometimes we miss it entirely, and even intentionally.
And that's the problem.
We yearn for what this is. We seek it. And if we are fortunate, at least we get a handle on it within our own heads (and hearts).
But that doesn't mean we can adequately share it, should we choose to, even when we want to.
And when we can't, sometimes skimming the surface just isn't enough.
Is this enough? Here? Actually, yes. In this moment, yes. That's not always true. But sometimes, yes.
Authenticity is a journey.
Reflection photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you've lost it." ~ Unknown
I was talking to a friend about balance tonight. Why is the desire for such a simple, straightforward concept so elusive on the planet? We seesaw between one edge or the other - and lose sight of the Center. I'm not saying balance itself is necessarily easy to create, but when we aren't even looking for it, we lose our way.
Rainbow Photo by Susan Larison Danz
"Be thankful for all of life's nuances - and keep trusting!" ~ Susan Larison Danz
It seems it is a continual experience as a parent, even as many years pass, to repeatedly need to surrender to trust. I'm not sure we ever really master this, though I suppose we can improve. Spirituality does help.
What does it mean to trust the path?
It's not just about trusting in your own path - it is trusting in the paths of everyone you care about - and yes, of course, the two are not completely separate.
There's always some new experience, some new challenge, some new adventure, and it begins even before the very first moment, which is an adventure in itself.
Do we ever really learn to surrender? Perhaps, and maybe not. It's a process that repeats.
Eventually, of course, it happens in reverse, and they are needing to trust in YOUR path, too, so it's a mutual experience. This is Love on Planet Earth.
The more we can manage to trust the path, even when it's difficult, the more we can breathe into it, the more approachable it becomes. Is it ever really perfect? Does it need to be?
Path photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Listen live to The Frontier Beyond Fear Blog Talk Radio program Saturday at 1 PM PDT/4 PM EDT: Honesty and Fear (The program will be available at the same link afterwards, too).
How is being fearful related to honesty? How can fear not only impact what people share with us, but how we accept the information, and how we share things ourselves? How can we be more discerning by becoming more aware of our own relationship with fear?
What is the distinction between discretion and dishonest omission? We can still be discreet and authentic, in appropriate circumstances. How can we honor this in others and in ourselves?
How can we come to understand that all paths to authenticity are essentially a lifelong journey? We can realize we are imperfect, even while increasing our conscious intent to be authentic and empathic.
Greater awareness can help us, in every way, as well as respect for ourselves and one another. This also leads to more courage, which can help us immensely.
When we are intimidated or disabled by fear, we are unable to see things with clarity. This can often lead to harmful or hasty choices, for ourselves and our societies.
What is a better path forward? How can we discover it? Host Susan Larison Danz reflects on these important topics. It is very likely she will also introduce another passage from history or literature as a part of the exploration.
The Frontier Beyond Fear is in its 11th year, with over 400 episodes.
Forest Path photo by Susan Larison Danz.
“Study the past if you would define the future.” ~ Confucius
Making the time to listen to voices of the past is increasingly establishing itself as a day-to-day pattern in my life. The past has a great deal to teach us. It can teach us about passageways and perceptions that led to more expansive places, and it can teach us about corridors that narrowed into dead ends. I particularly appreciate listening to first-hand accounts, rather than second-hand interpretations.
The voices of history can speak to us in other ways as well - through poetry, through music, through art.
If we want to navigate productively and expansively through this current perilous era, we don't need to do it alone. Others have seen things. Others have chosen. Others have spoken. They have much to tell us.
Reflection photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
It's surprisingly simple. What enables Trust? Honesty. When honesty and transparency are missing, trust is missing, too.
All forms of authenticity require a journey, and even being honest about that helps to enable trust.
Life is often confusing, especially in times like these. Open vulnerability, including admitting mistakes, is all a part of the journey to trust. And forgiveness. Which leads to even greater trust.
We need more of this, not less.
Spring Tree photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"As Napoleon once said 'What is history, but a fable agreed upon?'" ~ Dan Brown
Looking at History through the lens of what people chose to write about is an increasingly interesting pursuit for me. Sometimes the descriptions surrounding a particular writer or an era of writing speak to me of our own times. Today in an American Literature book, I was fascinated to read that not all Puritans, in fact many Puritans, did not fit the stereotype of a Puritan that I have essentially been taught since childhood.
I was surprised to read this in an introduction: "Puritans in general were lovers of life, their clergy were well-educated scholars in whom the Renaissance lamp of humanism still burned. They did not forbid gaily colored clothes if they could get them..." This passage did not neglect to mention that there were indeed harsh things that happened within Puritan culture, but that was not the entire story. It said that many Puritans even drank in moderation, enjoyed the arts and made several advances in education that we tend not to think about (like creating Harvard).
History is far more nuanced than we tend to know.
Tree photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Bloom where you are planted." ~ Saint Francis de Sales
This particular lesson has returned to me many times in my life. I recall first seeing it as a child, and I know it was written on something in the home where I grew up, but I can't quite recall where.
I was reminded of it today. Wherever we find ourselves, we can still blossom. We are here on Earth to grow.
Flower photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Listen to simplicity. Its gentle voice has much to say." ~ Susan Larison Danz
Every once in a while, we think perhaps we are headed in a particular new direction. Then, all of a sudden, something happens to shift it. It may shift it slightly. It may shift it dramatically. The key question in the process is: Are we listening all along the way?
This happened to me today, with something I had tentatively planned (unrelated to my work), and it sure seemed like things were heading that way, but then I felt things begin to change, and as I listened and aligned with how this felt, I realized this particular change in direction was feeling less likely, and less necessary. And circumstances became stronger, positively supporting the current path.
And I realized: All is well.
Forest path photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"To the poor loveless ever-anxious crowd,
Ah! from the soul itself must issue forth
Enveloping the Earth"
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Today's Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast explored Hope:
We could all use some time reflecting on Hope. Host Susan Larison Danz shares how we can find our way to Hope, no matter what is going on in our lives or our world.
A portion of the poem Dejection: An Ode is read and discussed as a part of this program. It is very approachable for all listeners and was written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1802. Samuel lived 1772-1834 and struggled with a number of things in his life - heartbreak, financial failure, doubt and serious addiction - and yet he writes of how he looks for hope and joy in this poem. There is also a brief reference in this program to the phrase "Hope springs eternal", written by Alexander Pope. When we read literature, we find it is more approachable than we realize, and we can learn so many things useful for improving our lives and world today through studying the writing of imperfect lives in imperfect times, just as our own lives and times are imperfect.
Listen to the podcast here: Reflections on Hope
Azaleas photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Hope springs eternal..." ~ Alexander Pope
Listen live to The Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast Saturday at 1 PM PDT/4 PM EDT (or to the podcast at the same link afterwards): Reflections on Hope
Flower photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"The most important things are the hardest to say." ~ Stephen King
Oddly related to what I had to say yesterday about free expression, I had an experience today, and in a respectful and compassionate, yet relatively open and honest way, which I hope is a "glitch", in which some private messages in a conversation on a social media platform mysteriously vanished. It's been several years since this particular platform has been "glitchy" in that way, and so I wondered.
I do hope it is simply a random glitch. And even if it is, do you see how we have all become more sensitive to such things? And why?
And so it is I'm here again, writing. And will find more ways, not less.
"Before the truth can set you free, you must free the truth." ~ Susan Larison Danz
It has become clear to me that these nightly writing exercises just aren't always unfolding as deeply or as authentically as I would like, and so I very likely will not write here every night (it's difficult to predict), and that's OK - as I'll be looking for new ways to write, too.
If you want to know my honest opinion, when it comes to open expression, the kind that encourages respect for multiple empathic perspectives (and yes, there is more than one), yet goes to deep and honest places, we are struggling mightily in our world right now. And I'm not quite sure what will change that, but it requires deeper work and not perfunctory exercises.
So I'm going to reflect on how to go about that work, and I'll be here when so inspired. If that is tomorrow, great! If not, I'll trust in that. I'm not going to force work that skims the shallows or dances elusively around the point, as that is not what I'm about, and it's deeply unsatisfying.
We have deep and honest work to do. Many of us. Those who so choose. That much is clear.
Until next time . . . (that may be tomorrow - we will see!). I know I'll be here Friday to let you know about Saturday's weekly radio program at 1 PM PDT. The work continues. More soon . . .
Ripples photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Beauty always offers solace in a tumultuous world." ~ Susan Larison Danz
It's easy to get entangled in the cares of our lives and the world. That's exactly when it's time to breathe, and open ourselves to Spring.
Daffodils photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"A choice driven by fear is not any kind of choice at all - it is captivity." ~ Susan Larison Danz
We will not arrive anywhere enlightened if we live in a place where it is acceptable to coercively violate personal boundaries. This is a very, very hazardous time on the planet, where such things are trending in this direction, and if they continue to be pursued, it will result in utter chaos. That's what will likely happen. There are many in the spiritual community who will stand up for what is right - and other communities as well. And that will be the right thing to do. Because personal space and privacy must be protected.
There are those who have no respect whatsoever for those on a spiritual path because they don't believe in such things - they snicker and mock, diminish and deride, and have blinders on. There is no respect for personal autonomy and alternative choices. This is not conducive to decisions leading in a positive and respectful direction. It leads exactly where it leads, to a stark and unenlightened future. And very possibly to no future at all.
We have a choice on Planet Earth. And we can do better. Because we must.
Mt. Hood photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Fear may speak volumes when amplified, but Love controls the dial." ~ Susan Larison Danz
What happens when fear runs rampant? Whether it is impacting an individual or a society, or both, it leads to skewed choices. Because that's what fear does. It skews things. It distorts. It leads to aberrations in "controlling" behaviors, which are even contagious. Soon disrespect, dishonesty, egos on parade and plenty of nastiness results, and some of the worst examples in history show the extremes.
This is what fear does. It skews and disrupts.
What is the antidote?
Compassion. Mutual Respect. Honesty and Transparency. Respecting personal boundaries and choices, the hallmark of enlightened spiritual paths (and societies) - and Unconditional Love.
Too much control is actually out of control. That's the irony of it. That's what results from fear running rampant. And no, it's not aligned with Spirituality, either. How could it be?
Window Well photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"So is the danger a danger still; so is the fear worse." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Listen to today's broadcast of The Frontier Beyond Fear program here, now available in the archive: Courage and Clarity
How do we work with our fears so we can find greater clarity? We reflect on why this is so very important for our unfolding paths. When we allow our fears to dominate our thoughts and decisions, not only is life unpleasant - we are unable to make clear, productive and authentic choices. Why is Spirituality at the Center of finding our way? It has everything to do with Clarity. But it will ask something from us: Courage - even as Spirituality is our greatest Resource in finding it. What greater Resource could we have than our awareness of and conscious relationship with the omnipresent Divine? Once we discover expansive, open, honest and authentic routes to Clarity, we will also find within us the Courage to freely explore our paths forward.
A brief passage on fear and exploration written by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1837 is shared during the program.
"Fear always arrives with an 'opt out' option." ~ Susan Larison Danz
A number of years ago, this guidance came to me in a time when I really needed to hear it: Dwelling in fear is like wearing sunglasses in the dark. Take them off and behold the Dawn.
Sunglasses are so very stylish these days at night, and have been for a while.
How is wearing them helping?
Note: I will be broadcasting live at 1 PM PDT/4 PM EDT on The Frontier Beyond Fear Blog Talk Radio program on Saturday. Listen here: Courage and Clarity
Mt. Hood Dawn photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Authenticity brings invisible people to life!" ~ Susan Larison Danz
Authenticity and Spirituality. You really can't separate the two. An authentically spiritual path is a path that is freely explored.
How many times can I say it? We are not here to be clones, robots, or to echo one another in echo chambers.
We are here to be uniquely expressed aspects of the Divine. We wouldn't bother to be here at all if the idea was to be the same, or to always agree.
It is of very great concern to me that uniformity of opinion seems to be elevated above all things, these days. Not only is that an unattainable goal, it is not an attractive one. It has nothing to do with an authentically spiritual life. I'm already in "disagreement" with such an impossible and undesirable notion. It is fundamentalism, that's what it is, the most rigid form of thought - such notions lead to the very OPPOSITE of a spiritual path. And you can see it, very visibly, in the stress and discord that results.
We are here to celebrate our choices. Only the most oppressive forms of non-spiritual thought demand absolute conformity, and that is not a characteristic of the open-hearted Divine.
Why we have strayed so very far from such basic spiritual concepts, even in parts of the "spiritual community" which never would have advocated for this in the past, is indeed troubling to me.
Honesty. Authenticity. Non-judgment. Empathy. Forgiveness. We all do it imperfectly. These are fundamental aspects of Unconditional Love, the very Center. "Fundamentalism" for its own sake, absent of Divine Unconditional Love, is just that: fundamentalism. Those who cling to it can insist all they like and even demand or oppress - it doesn't make any of it Real or True.
Shadow photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." ~ Albert Einstein
I must admit I almost skipped another night, but realized I'm not ready to skip another night, just yet. It can be difficult sometimes to decide if we are being too "rigid", and sometimes, yes, we are. It has everything to do with balance.
As I write, I'm listening to a live radio interview about Artificial Intelligence, and I have only been partially listening, and they are exploring if we are living in a simulation or "a digital world". They just decided this is probably "the real world". What IS that, truly? What is Real?
And why is there inevitably this assumption that "advancement" is necessarily technological? I've written about this before, but it is entirely unproven (as assumptions often are). Just because Humanity is in a technological "phase" doesn't mean it's one that tends to last.
Wouldn't you love to see the "survey" of civilizations that have existed? How many are technological? How many survived that phase? How many combined technology with greater "gifts" of being aware? How many rendered technological advancement obsolete? How many wrecked their world? How many fixed it?
Somewhere, this is known.
How will it all turn out on Planet Earth?
We'll either awaken, or not.
River photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"Silence, healing" ~ Heraclitus
Yesterday was an unexpected moment of silence - and unplanned - as I had aimed to blog daily all year.
Even so, perhaps one was needed on a day like yesterday. I will honor the moment.
Water photo by Susan Larison Danz.
"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." ~ Alan Watts
We resist it, sometimes - probably often. Mightily. Yes. And sometimes it happens so quickly or so unexpectedly, it simply happens, and there is no time to react.
Change.
For something that is such an integral part of being human, you would think we'd be experts.
But we usually aren't.
I may be thinking about it in a way that isn't exactly accurate, or maybe just one particular way, and this may seem a bit obtuse - when I was a child, I recall playing the piece Tarentella on the piano. I was very young, and it was an easy piece, but not-so-easy when you are learning. What IS "easy", really, when you are learning something new?
I loved playing that piece. I would play it over and over. I can still remember a part of the picture that was on the page (there was a dancer and a spider, as I recall), and you can look up the history of it if you like, which is rather more intricate than anything I've known. How it came to me tonight - and how I realize in this moment it rather beautifully relates to the quote by Alan Watts - is this notion of a dancer who isn't really paying attention to the music that is playing, and change is happening all around, but the dance just keeps continuing. This is so very relevant to the era in which we find ourselves, unlike anything most of us have known.
We think the dance can be the same, and we try to keep our patterns going. But the music isn't playing in the way it was before.
Everything is different.
And when we finally manage to notice, deeply notice, we can either decide to keep resisting or to flow with it.
That's how life moves forward. We let change happen. Because it will. And we will dance, in new ways, when we do. And the music will accompany us and expand us when we let it.
Sacred Forest Sunset photo by Susan Larison Danz.
