“That Our Dance…
Might be Contagious”*
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That I was created for Joy.
My mind is too busy.
My heart is too heavy
For me to remember
That I have been
Called to dance
The Sacred dance of life.
I was created to smile
To Love
To be lifted up
And to lift others up.
O Sacred One
Untangle my feet
From all that ensnares.
Free my soul.
That we might
Dance
and that our dance
Might be contagious.”—Hafiz
Sometimes I forget?
Sometimes?Like 99.8% of the day
I forget
That
I was born for joy.Well, we would agree,
I am certain,It’s been a bit of a
Joy-challenged time
For a bit now.Yes, reality has
Shaken us
Upside and
Down
And
Sent
Us
To our rooms.So now what?
What is joy anyway?What does joy feel like?What is it…
Anyway?~~~
When I feel joyful, I feel:
- Free of everything else.
- Not attached to anything but the moment.
- Fully released from any outcome of anything.
- (My new mantra has become NO HOMEWORK)
- Connected to my body in some way
- A rush of energy (remember energy?)
- Mindless
- Liberated and alive
What about you?
What does joy feel like?
Where in your body do you feel it?
~~~
What brings you joy?
Here are my Joy-Potential-Categories:
~~~
ANIMALS
My animal, Niki.
Your animals.
The animals that are everybody’s.
The wild.
The free.
All of them.
They open my heart.
Their freedom.
Their deep presence.
Okay, this is embarrassing.
Friends,
This is a reveal.
I never thought
I would be
This person.
My dog, Niki has a dress.
Yes, Niki B the Dog has a dress.
The back-story is a bit long,
She has been
Invited to a party…
Suffice to say
Nothing
NOTHING
Connects me
To joy
More consistently
Then
Niki
Wearing her dress.
She loves it,
Gets super excited.
Cannot wait to put it on.
I think it’s about the
Little Kid in Me,
Little Nan.
It just cracks me up.
~~~
MOVEMENT
For me, movement provides
The
Potent atmosphere
In which
Joy
Might
Emerge.
Yoga-Dance at Kripalu!
One day after class I realized I had a Yoga-Dance injury—
I remember my face aching
After class
From
So
Much
Darn
Smiling!
One of Kripalu’s wonderous dance and yoga teachers is Jurian Hughes.
She is deep and dear and warm and alive—
And
She is truly contagious.
She offers fantastic classes online.
Here is a free class she is offering on October 14. Give yourself this gift.
See more of her online classes here.
https://jurianhughes.com/online-classes/
~~~
MUSIC FROM THE SOUL—
MESSAGES FROM THE HEART
What else brings me joy?
Stunning music stemming from the soul.
Authentic messages from the heart.
Truth is so profoundly beautiful.
Didn’t Keats say that,
Or somebody?
To land the truth,
To open its door,
To allow its power to emerge.
That grows in me
Such joy.
I find deep joy in the truth and beauty of this:
Where the Light Begins
By Susan Labarr & Jan Richardson
~~~
Dear Friends,
Joy comes,
Joy goes.
Trying to make it happen
Is counterproductive.
Engaging in the areas
Where joy might live for you,
That
Is the practice.
Yes.
It is a practice,
This joy thing.
This joy thing.
It is a savior,
This thing
Of
Joy.
Dear Friends,.
Not as a way to transcend the heavy,
The difficult, the intense,
But as a way
To give ourselves
The willingness and the courage
To keep going
No matter what is happening—
Give us
The
Willingness
Give us
The
Courage
To be present
With whatever
You offer us.
As best we can.
And when we cannot,
May we breathe,
May we relax,
May we lean back
Toward
The
Possibility
That
Deep inside the intensity of the moment,
A doorway to joy
May be creaking open.
~~~
I would love to hear your responses!
What do you think?
All voices welcomed—all experiences perfect.
You can reach me —
thecoacharuni@gmail.com
- Title taken from poem by Hafiz