into the ether
dancing, being, getting older
“For my part, I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” Vincent Van Gogh
This week, I went to Dancing Freedom for the first time in almost a year. It is exactly what it sounds like - the best way I can describe it is to ask you to imagine dancing alone in your room, but with other people doing the same. It’s not a dance class - there are no steps to follow. It’s also not a nightclub - no one is looking at anyone else. You can show up basically in your pyjamas. It’s not about how you look or how you dance; it’s not even about if you dance. Show up and let the music carry you. Show up and give your body space to speak.
In a world that involves so much talking, it feels like medicine to give voice to other parts of ourselves.
The theme this week was ‘ether’. A galaxy of candles had been lit around the room, transforming the community hall into a magical realm. The facilitator, Sage, led us through the elements: earth, water, fire, air, and ether. There was no need to announce transitions. We could feel the shifts in the music.
When I dance, I notice the permission I give myself to take up space. I spread my arms wide, like wings. I stomp my feet, making as much noise as I can. Images float through me in a half-dream - thoughts, messages, clarity of feeling and being, my place amongst people and all things - all of this without words. As a writer, it’s endlessly fascinating to notice things this way, without even the need to give them words.
The music slowed and drifted into a sound bath, followed by gentle reflections and the sharing of fruit, tea, and cake.
I put my big coat and gumboots back on. The drive home felt otherworldly. I was of another world, finding myself in this one. The strangeness of gliding along in a metal container, under the glaring ice-white lights, trees reduced to shadowy giants in the dark, was not lost on me. A road stretched out before me, so foreign from the one I’m really on.
Miscellaneous news -
we told cosy stories in the city
we have been writing together every Thursday (you are welcome to join us!)
I spoke about creative writing and met an extraordinary man
I was part of the latest Storytelling for Change cohort, and it was wonderful
Happy winter or summer solstice, wherever you are,
the days get longer and/or shorter,
transitions keep us on our toes :)
Love,
Amy
