THE DANCER An Excerpt From The Wanderer by Khalil Gibran
Once there came to the court of the Prince of Birkasha a dancer and her musicians. And she was admitted to the court. And she danced to the music of the flute, the lute, and the zither.
She danced the dance of flames and fire, and the dance of swords and spears; she danced the dance of stars and the dance of space, and then she danced the dance of flowers in the wind.
When she had finished, she approached the prince and bowed her body before him. The prince bade her to come nearer, and said unto her, “Beautiful woman, daughter of grace and delight, whence comes your art? And how is it that you command all the elements in your rhythms and your rhymes?”
And the dancer came near and bowed her body again and said, “Gracious majesty, I know not the answer to your questionings. Only this I know: The philosopher soul dwells within his head, the poets soul dwells within his heart, the singers soul dwells about his throat, but the soul of the dancer abides in all her body.
A few lines I had written on similar thoughts… on the Dance and the Dancer.
We are given the gift of life
In this gift are many gifts
That are necessary to thrive as humans.
Though we may not think much of them.
Each gift is interlinked to the other
We are meant to sense at different times
We are meant to share with one another
Our gifts are meant to refine our beings.
One such gift is an ability for compassion
Without it we cease to be humane
Deeply intertwined with loving kindness
A share of compassion can lift our spirits.
How beautiful a world we would be
When each life lives with compassion
For the world beyond around and within
Knowing the preciousness of life itself.
The beauty of compassion
Is in its flow
Emnating from the depth of ones soul
Reaching out in a boundless bond
Caring sharing
Helping healing
Sensing feeling
Loving and living
Compassion connects and how!
Extend a helping hand and bring the Gift of Compassion in life and living.
Dance is a lot like life . Here I bring forth a few simple pointers on Partner Dancing.
Important lessons in leadership are easily learned, on the dance floor…as you lead and as you follow.
They are very simple lessons and yet very powerful and contribute in making one a better dancer immediately. But more importantly it helps to know how to be a better leader in life too.
About two decades or more, Social dancing workshops and lessons in India were rarely common. We decided to do something about it and the Dance Concepts Latin &ballroom dance workshops began . We started with the basics :a Foxtrot , a Waltz , Jive , Rock n Roll and of course a Cha Cha Cha.
The idea was to teach as naturally and as simply as possible, so that the students made quick progress in learning the concepts of dancing rather than just a routine. Having had the privilege of sharing our social dancing skills with so many eager learners over the years we made a few observations … when the learners were learning the footwork side by side they would find it a breeze. But when we instructed them to join hands and dance together in an open hold some of them felt as if they were wrestling more than dancing with the lady pulling one way, while the man was pushing her another way Each had their ideas about how they should move and how it would look.
Social Dancing is a partnership, a partnership where there is a leader and a follower. Even if you don’t like to follow, to dance well together it is wise to respect the partnership rules. Learning to follow is a skill that one needs to develop and is not necessarily easy. It’s difficult as you have to do the same thing your partner is doing, except backward.
Just as important, you have to follow his lead even if it seems as if he’s going the wrong way. And thus if one learns to lead well, the partner may actually enjoy the feeling of being led than feeling yanked and shoved around.
Traditionally the man takes the lead on the dance floor. Yes, in ballroom dancing – even in these days -mostly the man leads. But roles can be and are reversed as well. After all it takes two to tango… if one leads the other follows.
Being a leader is more about sensitivity and definitely not about pushing your partner around, but to lead well, it is necessary to develop spatial awareness so you know exactly where your partner is at every moment, which foot their weight is balanced on without looking. You have to be aware of their pacing, and be mindful of the strengths, and weaknesses. And you have to take all that into consideration every time you move with a partner in your arms.
A good leader connects than controls.
Savvy
Sense what you are going to do before you do it. Just be aware of what your next step is going to be, and give your partner the signal at the right time so they can follow you gracefully. Like so in life: Having some foresight of what your life should become is like knowing what type of dance you want to do. But being a good leader requires more of you than that. It demands that you also have good ideas about the medium- and short-term tasks that are required to achieve that vision. And it means you have to communicate those ideas to your partners – those who are working closely with you to achieve your vision.
When dancing together it is very important to …
Signal your intentions with clarity. To lead well, and the way to avoid using force is to give strong, clear signals. The clearer your signals are, the easier it is to follow you. And the easier it is for your partner to follow you, the better you will look and feel together and the better they will like dancing with you.
In life: knowing what you want from your partners, colleagues etc is not enough. You have to let them know what you want them to do by communicating it to them with clarity. And most of all you have to develop the art of patience.
Lead to demonstrate your partner’s strengths.In dancing, the purpose of the leader is to lead – but the purpose of the dance itself is to enjoy the moment with your partner, each focusing on the bringing the best of each others strengths than the weaknesses…
Wise leaders hardly blame the follower when things go haphazard , which it might at times! After all exhilaration and excitement are a stones throw away from comfort zones that one might trespass at times , yet when ever the leader and the follower work in harmony … it is magnetic and mesmerizing indeed! It is then a dance beyond all expectations!
In your growing years, many emotional fluctuations of belief and disbelief will arise from curiosity to concern, from doubt to belief, questioning the purpose of our existence, questioning the powers undefined , the supremeness of it all ..!!!!
May my thoughts be well scrutinized by you in your quest to answers that resonate to your being . But hope to pass on a share of my simple understanding of the complexities of the undefinable ‘Faith’ in the name of God!
To me faith is the hope and strength of divinity in each of us …Without which we cease to exist as living beings .
Acknowledging the presence of divine compassion in our lives is about being able to receive as much easily as much as being able to give.
When we are focused on evolving deeper into our spiritual path of awareness , very often the body is neglected … it could be physically neglected, abused, deprived in more ways than one ,either out of sheer ignorance or due to assumption that austerity and overt practices of discipline over our body will only lead to salvation .
When the very dwelling place of our being is neglected how are the roots going to dig deeper… wisdom is not intellectual understanding alone.
True wisdom is acknowledgement of the divinity in every living being … being able to understand the union of the heart and the mind , and in the awakening of the wisdom one finds the balance in the union of action and thoughts.
Caring for our body,is a prerequisite to spiritual growth .. if you don’t love yourself, how can you love others .Eastern philosophies extoll the virtues of equanimity and the consciousness of the intuitive intellect, a sense intelligence than just rational thoughts … And when we learn that you and I are simply one… the connectedness of consciousness becomes easy to unravel . We are also able see and to accept the reality of the shades of grey in between the black and white of human behavior .
When we are able to do so , the so called negative traits of reaction , rebuttal to an action converts itself to a mindful response with equanimity .
This method invokes a sense of balance in the living being .
Simply adding an element of gratitude to all that we are blessed with will only let us ingrain a spirit of gratefulness in whatever we do …as we learn to respect and love another being as part of the same source … AND THAT TO ME IS ….
BEING HAPPY WHERE YOU ARE, AS YOU ARE, WITH ALL THAT YOU ARE …. LOVING THE SELF …AND CARING ENOUGH TO LOVE THE WORLD AROUND YOU !
AND THEN THE FAITH IN THE GOD -NESS IN YOU AND ME IS ONE !
Love
Mom
Savvy
This is an excerpt from a few reflections written to my daughter in her growing years.
To my loving child.
The Bond
Who says the umbilical card is severed.
Never, it can be so.
The bond of blood,
Sculpting every day
With ur flesh and blood.
Never a moment
In those nine months
Was careless or thoughtless
Of the growing life inside.
The miracle of life energies
To continue its cycle on earth Seeps in every cell in its own synergy
A bond that lasts a lifetime.
Age, time and distance doesn’t matter,
A child will ever be a child in the eyes of a Mother,
A continuation of her life
A source of her joy for ever.
A child’s misery bleeds her heart
All the foibles are erased without effort
How nice this world would be
If all have a mother’s outlook towards others.
Putting her child first comes natural, not by intention,
The only love that expects nothing in return.
Everything else becomes a shadow
When the child comes in a Mother’s vision.
A mother is a messenger of God
Not confined to humans alone
Look around to see this motherhood
In all the Species of Nature around.
Selfless and pure ,unconditional love
Caring and sharing comes untold.
The bond is in the senses and soul
Who says this cord is severed at birth.
Anjana
I am touched by the above verses that my mother has penned. I share this here with all my heart and soul, knowing every mother andchildout there will relate to this beautiful poem from the heart of my dear mother Anjana.
My Dedication in Celebration of the World Kindness Day yesterday.
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. – LAO-TZU
Such profound words of wisdom from the great master Lao Tzu!
Always believe that when you share kindness with another, more kindness springs up, whether it’s in your thoughts, in your deeds, or in stillness too. Whenever you give with a compassionate heart and the receiver accepts with gratitude and appreciation, you have both made a foray, knowingly or unknowingly, into the dimension of empathic living.
There is a great abundance of learning to share.
Learning is never limited, it is endless and ever regenerating in itself. What I perceive to understand and to confidently and gratefully share with the world in my unique way, will in itself become known in the hearts of the ones I shared it with. This is the power of positive change. They will eventually distribute their own interpretation of that knowledge in their own creative way with another, and so on.
Then the incredible happens! With every distribution, there will be depth and dimensions a new, which in turn will pave the path for greater clarity and wisdom. However, the choice of walking the path is one’s own!
When one person shares from the heart, the result is always a regeneration of trust, confidence, and love in abundance.
With increasing love, there is a decrease of needs, and with that, there is greater contentment and fulfillment.
A few things to keep in mind are:
Share without motive.
Share without ego.
Share with gratitude.
The ones who bestow with acceptance writ in their hearts are the ones who know the value of letting go to reap its rewards.
Rewards that cannot be measured by time or days, as they abound in the infinite wisdom; a circle of conscious connections.
Savvy Raj 
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