Keep Dancing

I see the writing prompt, QUICK, & I hear the voice of my seventh grade cotillion instructor teaching us the samba: quick-quick slow, quick-quick slow…

How is it that I remember his voice but not his name? Oh well, he taught me a few basics, lessons well learned if seldom useful in my day-to-day life.

And then I picked up Mary Oliver’s book, Devotions, which I am slowly perusing as a way of counteracting the tendency to live too quickly. I read this:

Three Things to Remember

As long as you’re dancing, you can
break the rules.
Sometimes breaking the rules is just extending the rules.

Sometimes there are no rules.

I’m not a great dancer but the metaphor works.

Keep dancing, quick-quick slow, or just quick, or just slow. Keep moving, doing all the right things and hopefully, occasionally, a few fun wrong things. Or messy things, like creative risks. Keep going, whether on the well-worn road surrounded by the masses, or on the scenic route, or forging your own path through the tall grasses.

Keep dancing, the samba or the waltz or your own shimmy. You might move quickly, and sometimes, slow leads to greater intimacy.

And sometimes, while you’re dancing, living in the moment without a care in mind, you’ll find what you were looking for. There it is: the cotillion teacher’s name was Mr. Benjamin.

Five Minute Friday writing prompt: QUICK

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Published by Siv Ricketts

Hi, I'm Siv (pronounced "See-v") Ricketts, & I'm so glad you're here. In this space & on Instagram, I write to encourage you to have hope, seek beauty, and live joyfully. I have BA’s in English and Communication from Westmont College and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary. I have focused my career working in and writing for the Church as a youth director, a communication director, and a freelance writer/editor. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband, two sons, and a menagerie of pets. You can also find me on Instagram (@sivricketts).

3 thoughts on “Keep Dancing”

  1. My Life in Our Father's World – Illinois USA – I am a wife and mother with 2 adult children. I am a jail chaplain and a preschool teacher. I consume copious amounts of coffee on a daily basis. I believe that God has a unique plan for each of us. Consequently, I write what God tells me to write when He tells me to write it..
    My Life in Our Father's World says:

    There is a smile dancing across my face as I read this.

    FMF #8

    Reply
  3. aschmeisser – I'm a writer - my new book, 'Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart' will be published by Tate Publishing on July 10, 2012. It's a book about the redemptive power of love - God's love for us, the love we share through friendship, and the sacrament of romantic love.
    aschmeisser says:

    Well, now, I can’t really dance,
    and Why?’s the question that doth beg.
    I just do not want to chance
    my poor partner’s broken leg.
    Really bad t’were it my wife,
    and on her busted limb I trod,
    but I would sure fear for my life
    if I broke the leg of God.
    Now that of course is metaphor,
    for guys should never dance with guys,
    but maybe there’s some parquet floor
    high above the golden skies
    where such rules will be suspended
    and God, by me, might be upended.

    Reply

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