out of the ordinary...10-19-21
The deep cold snap last week scrapped a 3 day camping trip. I can do rugged…but a 40 degree high is not conducive to anything. So I woke Monday morning to an empty to-do list. My current schedule is a pale shadow of what it used to be. But nothing planned? Not so much.
I pulled out my trusty Osho deck and asked, “What do you have to tell me about this stillness?” I drew Ordinariness, a woman gently moving through an orchard, gathering fruit in her basket. The accompanying narrative was, in a nut shell, a call to bring your attention and delight to the ordinary. Chop wood, carry water.
I began moving uber-slowly, especially in the kitchen. Oozing around molasses-like, returning ceramic dishes to familiar shelves, placing well-worn pans in messy drawers, caressing slender silverware, utensils I’ve eaten from thirty years. The laundry turned into a celebration of clean creation. Chopping vegetables a prayer. Really, it's such a short hop from ordinary to sacred.
On Sunday we danced this ordinary landscape. Wanna move with ordinary right here? Imagine a six foot line on your floor. Stand all the way at one end, let your chest expand. Imagine yourself pushing to be more. More what? More brilliant, more remarkable, more exceptional, more clever, more extraordinary. Dazzle the world with your uniqueness. Maybe it's a stretch; it may feel totally familiar. But notice the energy it takes to maintain this posture of perform, pretend, produce.
Shake it off, let go as you walk to the other end of the line. On this far end, let shoulders collapse, rib cage cave. Feel the flavor of not good enough, less than, hidden. Comparing and forever coming up short. Overwhelmed by accomplishments of others, wishing for more. More what? See above.
When you’ve inhabited both ends, let yourself wander this polarized strand a bit. Or put on some music and dance betwixt too much and not enough. Be curious. How does the middle feel? Nothing added. Enough. Unpack this for yourself. I delight in the sensibility evoked by this timeless phrase:
Just be yourself…everyone else is taken.
I adore teaching 5Rhythms, a practice of limitless possibility. Offering this exploration Sunday anchored me into the ordinary and the mysterious way it is woven with stillness. This week on Wednesday night I want us to feel stillness throughout a wave, serenity at hand no matter what rhythm is sweeping through us in these crazy times. Our ability to face a sink full of dirty dishes and just peacefully, methodically render them clean. In the most ordinary way.
On the 5Rhythms horizon:
Sunday Halloween Sweat Oct 31: Put on a costume, dance with us in the garden. First wave also available on Zoom 10:00-11:00. In person? We have a surprise ritual in store for you from 11:00-1:00. Bring your lunch; we’ll stay after and break bread together.
Wednesday Waves in October 20 & 27: We have a special “dance mask” for you at the door. These KN94’s as comfy as a mask can be. It is amazing to be on that Clara wood floor.
Wednesday Waves Nov/Dec: 5 classes for the remainder of 2021. Majica and are going to serve up a tasty hybrid of what we love. I’ll start us out at 6:30 with foam and ball rolling and release BEFORE we dance a wave. AFTER we dance, Majica leads us in an art experience. No experience necessary for participation in these three uniquely healing practices. We are calling you in if you have NEVER danced with us. Just print this ticket...your participation FREE for the very first class November 10.
Richard Linklater, an American film director, producer and screenwriter sums it up for me here:
As you get older, you want less from the world;
you just want to experience it.
Any barriers to feeling emotions get dismantled.
And ordinary things become beautifully poetic.
Yours in the poetry of it all...Bella