“My mom smiled at me. Her smile kind of hugged me.”
Palacio, Wonder
Power to the Magic Circle….
The hug is a magic circle
All it needs are willing arms
And a heart full of love…
Savvy
Category Archives: Love
The Creative Touch
An ode to artistry I must thank this unknown artist in the clip who created this beautiful depiction of the festival of Pongal celebration in South India.Watching this video clip made me write a few dedicated verses on the art and flair of the creative touch.Savvy
Trust to let go!
When you dance with another, what matters most is the trust you place in yourself and your partner to dance as one unit, moving in synchrony and feeling the harmony of your beating hearts. This is the ideal connection that makes dance come alive in the moment.
Yet as much as trust is a much-needed trait in dancing as a couple, often trust takes time to build and is subjective amongst dancers.
To trust is to let go of doubt.
To trust is to allow space for growth.
To trust is to know patience in waiting.
To trust is to allow space for faith.
To trust another is not easy
For one and all.
To some, it may be very difficult.
But trust is certainly worth trying.
To trust takes effort, not assumptions.
It takes practice in time and space.
For trust can be on many levels
Emotional, mental, or physical.
Trust is built to evolve along
For in building the relationship
The foundation needs to endure
The winds of change.
Trust what trust does.
Try to pin it down.
Watch how it turns out to be
Confusing and elusive…
Before you trust, you will
Spend time sensing,
And witnessing the energy,
The tension in the transactions
Being ready for changes,
Being prepared to brave
Through disappointments and dissatisfactions
That may arise at any moment.
And yet…
Trust is not only about building
But about the ability to let go
Of worry and insecurities,
Fear and failures.
To trust is to reach out
Without any expectations
But in utter faith and belief
That you will be supported!
A dance between a couple is a blissful feeling only when there is trust in both the self and the other, just as much as the passion, as only when there is the letting go, can there be the flow manifesting itself through the movements.
Savvy Raj
Member International Dance Council
UNESCO
Embody Love
A personal mantra…
Live the life you love and love the life you live!
What happens to you when you embody love…
You realise your self worth in awareness
You start to give and receive in gratitude
You gradually become a kinder human being…
Your actions gradually turn compassionate.
Your respect for life increases leaps and bound.
You value the power of love in life at large.
You begin to see the larger picture
You know you are born for a purpose.
Your movements become life affirming
Your positivity spreads beyond yourself
You begin to generate joy and thrive in goodwill and gratitude.
You begin to see the meaning in celebrating life and living in the now.
Savvy
What makes words flow?
Poetry is a joy that cannot be contained
Poetry is in words that get themselves aligned
What makes words flow
So many things I say
The pull of the idea conveyed
The push of the underlying emotions
The interconnects in the thoughts
The interdependence in the choices made.
Some say verses flow only in rhyme and meter
Some like it structured to the tee
And some a bit undone.
But true poetry is a feeling created
A magnet for thoughts imagined
That move to synch in a symphony
In the most unique of ways.
Every poem is a dance of words
In rhythmic flow all its own ….
Touching hearts through those words
Conveying so much more than words can say!
Savvy
Truths of life
As Above So Below
As Within So without
As the Universe So the Soul…
Artwork by Savvy Raj
Truths of life.
Life manifests itself the way you see it.
Your words thoughts and attitudes
Are powerful beyond your understanding.
As you intend, you co-create the path
The truth of life is within around and beyond you .
Your choice in free will matters
Your integrity of spirit and soul evolves along the way.
Action creates reaction which needs to turn to response in awareness.
Hurry or worry is simply a state of the mind and emotions which needs understanding to let go.
All is a work in progress
A continuation in the evolution.
Savvy
On Leadership
As a dance educator and trainer…while teaching and sharing social dancing skills one of the important learnings we work on is the understanding of the art of leading and following. Both very significant for any kind of partner dancing as much as in life itself. After all, life is a dance and dance imitates life!
In the first place, what does it take to be a leader? Many things but most importantly, a follower. So simply put, there must be a follower to be a leader. There can be no leader without a follower and there certainly would be no follower without a leader.
Dancing together is a lesson in leading and following in partnership!
In such a perspective both the leader and follower in the dance have a relevant role to play, that of completing the dance successfully and like so in life as well.
A dance can teach a lot about leadership and here are a few reflections on what it is to lead…
To lead is an opportunity to honour the trust of a follower.
To lead is to light the flame of inspiration to win the vote of trust of the followers.
To lead is to have a strength of purpose that inspires confidence.
To lead is to allow yourself to make decisions for others to evolve along.
To lead is to accept the responsibility of mistakes.
To lead is to maintain a decorum of standards unflinchingly.
To lead is to believe you can!
To lead is to be led by a greater purpose.
To lead is to value the laws of nature.
To lead is to value the need for self expression while respecting the need for structure.
To lead is to better the followers and not beat them down at every opportunity.
To lead is to be able to collaborate and learn just as much as to compete.
To lead is to denote respect and not expect overt attention.
To lead is to show the way for others to follow.
To lead to work tirelessly with a sense of inner commitment without hesitation without expectation.
To lead is to muster the resilience of the spirit.
To lead is to endow the spirit of courage in others.
To lead is take into account the potential of all possibilities.
Savvy
Do share your take on leadership. I would be keen to understand how you see it impacting your life and work.
The strength of support and flow of movements while dancing together is based on the connection established and that marks the quality of leadership in question.
Savvy
#danceworkshops #dancing #danceeducation #dancelessons #lifelessons #learners #leadership #leadandfollow #danceconcepts
What makes the dancer dance?
What makes the dancer dance?
There is a invisible pull of passion
That speaks to the dancing soul
In no uncertain words
That the realm to create is within you
In the draw of movements
Is the pure fascination
Of sensing feeling and knowing
The pulsating dance of energy
As the dancer emotes through movements
Waxing in eloquence and ease
For the viewers at large
There is another story waiting to be told
Blurred in the sidelines those memories
Of passionate, perseverance and focus
Of dedicated determination and dare
Of trustful knowing…
Of the strength of belief
That every move made
And the steps taken
Is with utter faith & grounding.
Every muscle in the body flows
Through the symphony of movements. To move to the music in harmony
Tuned in the divinity of expression.
Savvy Raj
Member International Dance Council
UNESCO
One life
Just one heartfelt move… makes all the difference!
One who knows the worth of life cannot afford to waste even a single moment of life… Take a step towards a more meaningful life for you ….
Savvy
The Gift of Family & Friends
Your true source strength in every living moment!
Friends and families are your circles of protection
What is family?
Relationships that bond through a lifetime
Through the winds of changes
In hopes and hurt
In challenges and conflicts
In confusion and chaos
In the circumstances and consequences…
Healing and helping
Caring and consoling
Being there throw the thick and thin
In support and encouragement
Amidst the pain and pleasures
Of life and living
Families and friends are strength giving
Value and nourish them
Through attention and time.
For only they will stand the test of time
In moments of despair desperation.
And after all what use is happiness With no one to partake the joy?
Keep your friend and families close to your heart.
Savvy
Beautiful music
I received this beautiful gift of a share
I want to share it with you . I recommend you spend some time playing as you please . Rest assured you will create and listen to beautiful music, even if you have never played a musical instrument before .
Gift yourself some blissful musical moments. Play on!
https://bandura.ukrzen.in.ua/#lvivbandurfest
I have always been a lover of stringed instruments and their sounds. I wanted to know and learn a bit more about the Bandura.
A bandura is a Ukrainian, plucked string, folk instrument. It combines elements of the zither and lute and, up until the 1940s, was also often referred to by the term kobza. Early instruments had 5 to 12 strings and similar to the lute. In the 20th century, the number of strings increased initially to 31 strings, 56 strings – 68 strings on modern ‘concert’ instruments.
Musicians who play the bandura are referred to as bandurists. In the 19th – early 20th century traditional bandura players, often blind, were referred to as kobzars.
A little bit on the lute and zither two instruments whose elements are combined in the music.
Lute is any plucked string instrument with a neck (either fretted or unfretted) and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. More specifically, the term “lute” can refer to an instrument from the family of European lutes.
The lute is plucked or strummed with one hand while the other hand “frets” (presses down) the strings on the neck’s fingerboard. By pressing the strings on different places of the fingerboard, the player can shorten or lengthen the part of the string that is vibrating, thus producing higher or lower pitches (notes).
Zithers are played by strumming or plucking the strings, either with the fingers (sometimes using an accessory called a plectrum or pick), sounding the strings with a bow, or, with varieties of the instrument like the santur or cimbalom, by beating the strings with specially shaped hammers. Like a guitar or lute, a zither’s body serves as a resonating chamber (sound box), but, unlike guitars and lutes, a zither lacks a distinctly separate neck assembly. The number of strings varies, from one to more than fifty. Ref : Wiki
A few of my reflections on Music…
Music can be elusive yet effusive
Explosive and yet an epitome of blissfulness.
You may choose to dance and flow it with it
And know how blessed are those
Who can create music to tune into.
Yet you may not own its flow
You simply owe it your joy!!
Savvy
Light of the Soul
A writers soul is found dancing in the letters as he writes.
A painters soul is found between the colours in the canvas
The potters soul is in his fingers shaping the clay passionately.
The singers soul is in the sounds created by the voice.
The dancers soul is flowing through in every movement made.
The Soul is a restless wanderer
It breathes free not in captivity,
But in every movement of creation.
It cannot be fathomed or even sensed
Other than in the light of passion in the being.
For then the soul shines in its own light
For it has found its purpose of being.
Savvy
A Trustful Knowing
*Whatever comes your way as you journey into the New Year, remember the lesson of this story…*👇
A little boy and his father visited the country store, and upon leaving the store, the owner of the store offered the little boy some free Sweets… “Get a hand full of Sweets”, the merchant said to the boy.
The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself:- “Son get a hand full of Sweets… it’s free.” Again the boy did not move, continuing to look up in the face of his father.
Finally the father reached into the candy jar and got a hand full of Sweets and gave it to his son.
As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a hand full of the free candy. The boy with a big smile on his face looked into the face of his father and said:- *“Because I know that your HAND is BIGGER than mine.”*
So, whatever your needs are for 2019, please place them in the *FATHER’S HAND IN HEAVEN,* because HIS HAND is BIGGER THAN YOURS.
Have a blessed productive week as you journey towards the new year.
The Gift of Life
When I was a little girl I often have witnessed my dear father see and give great value and acknowledge every little good that is or happens, however small they may seem to others . It could be a with a gentle word , a kind word of appreciation or a little compliment.
He taught me one of most important lesson for a lifetime ….to notice, respect and reflect on the good in and around us … and to live positively and think of life always as Plus++++es.
Life is a beautiful gift as it is and it is in us to see it so.”
For Gifts are best appreciated in deep gratitude.
Bidding adieu to 2018
In Gratitude for the year that was
And in Hope for the year 2019
And many more that will be…
Let the light of joy in our hearts carry us through
Towards Happier Healthier and Healing times
For the world in and around us !
Wishing you all a wonderful New year 2019 ❤👌❤
Savvy Raj
Project 101
Today marks a personal milestone in blogging as I publish my 101st post. I have completed my continuous 100 days of writing on WordPress.
On a lark after a challenge to post a few of my favourite songs for three consecutive days came my way from a fellow blogger and friend Dr Sridhar. I decided to take it up and posted my favourite songs for three days. Then I started thinking if I could manage to post for a week and continued to write . The seven days went smooth and easy and then I upped my goal a little further to see if I could write a post everyday for a month.
I had a few ground rules established in my head . First that this was no competition to complete in pressure but simply an effort to see if I would find an inspiration to write on anything that caught my fancy each day . Second would I have the perseverance to continue and be able to dedicate time towards the effort .
Thirdly I wanted to see if I could keep my readers and audiences interested if I happen to post everyday.
And most of all I wanted to test whether my creative instincts are effected in anyway by habit…
A months regular posting on WordPress got me supercharged to aspire some more. Wp would egg me on with reminders of completing a 30th day streak of posting on WordPress.
It was no surprise that once I reached 30 I wanted to try and reach the 50th day.
Seemed then that I could do it if I was smart enough to manage my writing time around the early hours of the day. And that’s what I did.
No one in my family or friends knew much about this plan, but I was pretty clear how to go about it by then and dedicated a bit of time to writing every morning no matter what.
A few learnings.
Have a goal that seems workable, it is easier to focus.
Persevere… and believe you can work towards it.
Push your goal a step ahead as you reach a level.
Manage your time better, to make it happen
Value your goal and be dedicated.
Your creative sense will begin to work for you all the more…
Believe in your self and be passionate
Trust that you will find the way!
And most of all enjoy the journey as much as the destination.😊
Although I have written on WordPress for a few years now and I would have written and posted perhaps continously as well earlier without my own realisation. This was a task that had a goal and hence it is different to me.
The last few months have been personally challenging in terms of health where I was even admitted to the hospital and I am continuing to battle a condition that might require surgery soon. So basically being unwell literally I use the relatively painfree bits of time in the day, I have in my hands for creative enrichment …be it writing or painting and more.
Blogging through I reached my 50th day of posting. And I knew I couldn’t stop it in my heart . The magic figure of 100 floated in my mind and I was sold to the idea of making it happen.
Today it is the 101st day streak of publishing a post everyday and I truly wonder how I managed it all along with my present condition.
My biggest take back has been the loving support and generous comments from my readers which kept me going .
But other than that was a learning and affirmation that if we really make up our mind , we can beat the odds and find a way to acheive our goal .
Besides that I realised how my reading others blogs and writing every day would bring up some topic to contemplate creatively for the next day. The best part was I never had to try too hard … every post I wrote and shared I enjoyed with all my heart.
Writing gives me a sense of completion.
A feeling of contentment of a job well done. And if its well received it truly makes my day… and my fellow writers this I am pretty sure you would agree as well.
Thank you my dear readers and friends for staying with me right through. It has been an absolute pleasure to share and learn along the way… on what I can gratefully now call Project 101.
Wishing an awesome year 2019 for us all !
God bless all!
Savvy
Savvy Raj 
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