Second Chance Dance: February 2022

Monday, February 28, 2022

The Power and Magic of Dance

"I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger.

May you never take one single breath for granted.

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed.

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside

The Ocean.

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens

Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance.

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance...I hope you dance."

- I Hope You Dance , Lee Ann Womack

"You don't ask what a dance means. You enjoy it. You don't ask what the

world means. You enjoy it. You don't ask what you mean. You enjoy it. "

- Joseph Campbell

-----

The Power and The Magic of Dance

Witness the unbridled joy , enthusiasm, love and freedom

Of Children dancing. There are no boundaries, no walls

Or imposed limitations by any authority.

These cherubs believe everyone is equal, delighting in motivating the body

To exemplify what the heart and soul is truly feeling.

Letting the music inspire and magically move

The unfettered body with euphoria and

Sometimes just gliding with simple sweet slow passionate moments

Holding onto to love until ...

When and where did these innocents get corrupted,

Tainted with controlling constructs and become

Self centered afraid of what may happen next ?

The authenticity fades as false worldly promises continue

To be the cancer eating away at the truth.

The Divine DNA forgotten or ignored ?

Winds of war, unbridled street violence spilling over

Into houses of worship and schools,

Disagreements prevail over to mask or not to mask,

vaccinate or not to vaccinate,

Theologies and ideologies in conflict as who is right and who is wrong.

No lives seem to matter .

Intimacy, compassion and mercy not noticed as being absent

As these holy qualities seem to be left to a select few.

Sadly it is not surprising that energetic creativity

Is limited to how one fills bank accounts

And protect one's border lines and attachments.

Serenity, mindfulness and selfless concern for the common welfare

Left to the mission of spirits with faith

And who to let go ...

Dancing - loving, freeing, intoxicating drug of choice,

Calming consolations and illuminations .

When you're down, when you're up or even stuck in neutral.

Somehow it all conjures a query -

"What would happen to the world if we never restrained children from dancing

And from being the true complete compassionate peace filled beings

They are all intended to be ?"

- JF Sobecki

----------

Music for Dancing: (Turn it up and dance!)

I Hope You Dance - L.A. Womack

https://youtu.be/RV-Z1YwaOiw

Do You Wanna Dance - Mamas and papas

https://youtu.be/H8xpuG1RLjQ

Dance the Night Away - The Mavericks

https://youtu.be/iCg3xPW-rec

Dancing in The Street - Martha and the Vandellas

https://youtu.be/68Uv959QuCg

I'm Happy Just tp Dance With you - Beatles

https://youtu.be/B7X1oUfa8uE

Dance, Dance, Dance - Beach Boys

https://youtu.be/S3sejfvrv6o

Don't It Make You Wanna Dance - Jerry Jeff Walker

https://youtu.be/EfRzfnIvxW0

Save the Last Dance for Me - The Drifters

https://youtu.be/n-XQ26KePUQ

Swayin to The Music( Slow Dancing) - J. Rivers

https://youtu.be/WhNQ0SoI4mY

Dance Me to The End of Love - Sting ( L. Cohen)

https://youtu.be/9kbCYbn-7AI

Roll With It Baby - S. Winwood

https://youtu.be/u_vkKozA8OI

Dirty Dancing - Do You Love me /Love man

https://youtu.be/ijK0WTB_-RY

Foot Loose - dance compilation

https://youtu.be/0rLhJZTHYo4

CODA:

Meditating on the World - The People of Ukraine, all who suffer from violence, those marginalized, suffering illness and those living in abject poverty

What the World needs Now - J. DeShannon

https://youtu.be/UillI-tSgqY

Life Itself - G. Harrison

https://youtu.be/bLltRayHHL4

Children Learn What They Live --

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

amdg

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New Blog - Rain and Rivers Revisited: A Journey of a Lost Weekend

Well you may recall I have been working on a piece of fiction for a while now. It is still a work in progress. However, I decided

to release drafts of the first few episodes ( chapters.) Much of the work is completed but I am always cutting and editing.

http://rainandriversrevisited.blogspot.com/

It is difficult to release just pieces at a time as they are created as independent episodes they are also all parts of a larger piece (and picture .) I could share more but I am curious to read or hear your feedback.

I want to thank those friends and supporters who have already provided feedback ...and of course all the folks who have been following my Second Chance Dance Blog ( by the way that will continue.)

The material in the Blog is all copyrighted and cannot be reproduced in any form. Though, I welcome you to share the link and this blog with others .So please when you have a few minutes take a read and let me know what you think. I expect to be posting a series of subsequent episodes shortly.

Thanks....

News of Death

(This is for Coach)

Last night they came with news of death
not knowing what I would say.
I wanted to say,"The green wind is running through the fields making the grass lie flat."
I wanted to say,"The apple blossom flakes like ash covering the orchard wall."
I wanted to say,"the fish float belly up in the slow stream,stepping stones to the dead."

They asked if I would sleep that night,
I said I did not know.
For this loss I could not speak,the tongue lay idle in a great darkness,the heart was strangely open,the moon had gone,and it was then when I said, "He is no longer here"
that the night put its arms around me
and all the white stars turned bitter with grief.
- David Whyte

What Work is

We stand in the rain in a long line

waiting at Ford Highland Park. For work.

You know what work is--if you're

old enough to read this you know what

work is, although you may not do it.

Forget you. This is about waiting,

shifting from one foot to another.

Feeling the light rain falling like mist

into your hair, blurring your vision

until you think you see your own brother

ahead of you, maybe ten places.

You rub your glasses with your fingers,

and of course it's someone else's brother,

narrower across the shoulders than

yours but with the same sad slouch, the grin

that does not hide the stubbornness,

the sad refusal to give in to

rain, to the hours wasted waiting,

to the knowledge that somewhere ahead

a man is waiting who will say, "No,

we're not hiring today," for any

reason he wants. You love your brother,

now suddenly you can hardly stand

the love flooding you for your brother,

who's not beside you or behind or

ahead because he's home trying to

sleep off a miserable night shift

at Cadillac so he can get up

before noon to study his German.

Works eight hours a night so he can sing

Wagner, the opera you hate most,

the worst music ever invented.

How long has it been since you told him

you loved him, held his wide shoulders,

opened your eyes wide and said those words,

and maybe kissed his cheek? You've never

done something so simple, so obvious,

not because you're too young or too dumb,

not because you're jealous or even mean

or incapable of crying in

the presence of another man, no,

just because you don't know what work is.

Philip Levine

On Marriage - Kahil Gibran

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another, but make not a bond of love:Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loafSing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.And stand together yet not too near together:For the pillars of the temple stand apart,And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

A favorite "Journey" poem from a favorite poet

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
-- Mary Oliver

Send or post one of your favorites! They can be lyrics to a song!

Playing For Change

Please see the current music video from "Playing for Change" at the bottom of this page. It is a movement. Enjoy!

"Playing for Change" is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out to share it with the world

Fall in Love

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.” --- Pedro Arrupe SJ