Living in a reality in which change itself has been the only constant, I find that creating and keeping any kind of habit, structure, or routine in my daily existence to be a huge challenge.

Like leaning new dance moves in each new place I land, the pages of my story rotate as fast as a spinning disco ball. It feels like one chapter blends into the next ending one storyline before it even has time to begin. And as the lights whirl their way around and across the floor, I must admit, I’m feeling a bit tossed around, dizzy and somewhat out of breath.

I woke up this morning and assessed my current reality: living in the suburbs, assisting my aging mother and visiting a cemetery daily dodging grave-diggers with dance moves. Hmmmm…. What brought me out on this dance floor? I know that resisting my current chapter is not helpful but examining what my present circumstance is could potentially teach me something – right?

Dancing daily this month has honestly been a highlight. Whether it’s in the graveyard busting out zombie “thriller” moves, at a club under a glittering gala ball or with my 9-year-old friend Grace being a dancing pineapple!

I’m finding myself wanting to let loose everywhere and have had to hold myself back from getting my groove on at the grocery store or seat swaying while stuck in traffic. Not knowing how to dance hasn’t hindered me too much. Being free from thinking and focusing more on the feeling has really helped me with this dancing task.

Well at least it has been working in my own individual private dancer world. But this past week I took on Howard’s second part of his wild card challenge: “Take an actual dance class!” I wandered into a near by studio and took my first “official” ballroom dance lesson. Let’s just say I learned more than dance steps in this lesson. I don’t think 45 minutes is enough time to fully learn any one dance properly but I did learn that if I was going to be successful and/or stylish in my future dancing (or life planning) I would need to work on the following:

1. Find a balance between following and leading
2. Find a compatible partner (attitude, energy, and rhythm)
3. Find the balance between thinking through steps and feeling the movement of the music

I am hoping to find another lesson before the end of the month to see if I can put these new-found illuminations to the test.

4/28/14

Just finding this blog today? Read the prologue for more details on what Living Chapters is all about. Check out the Chapter Summaries Page to get caught up to date.