Sunday, January 09, 2022

Life is a dance, not a race

Life isn't a race, it's a dance. Every step forward and every step backwards, stepping sideways and twirling in circles, are all part of the dance we call life.

Great dancers are never in a hurry. They relax into the rhythm, becoming one with their partners, and experience the exhilaration of the dance.  --Matthew Kelly, Life is Messy, p. 38.

This is a good criterion for discernment. 

One of the attractions of St. Francis of Assisi is the lyrical quality of his approach to life in Christ. Life is a poem, a dance. Joy comes from that. Of course, the dance is centered on the Cross. It makes me think of the song, "The Lord of the Dance." (I know, people don't like that song, but it says something important, I think.)

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
It's hard to dance with the devil on your back.
They buried my body and they thought I'd gone;
But I am the dance, and I still go on:

My wife and I once wrote a song with a similar theme, that focused on the Resurrection:

Mary, Peter, James and John,
Have you seen the Risen Lord?
Yes, He's dancing by the sea;
Dancing feet proclaim the Song.

Chorus: Alleluia!  Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!  Alleluia! Alleluia!

Come, my friends, and let's make haste
To the sea and join the dance.
Raise our hands in joyful praise;
We will sing forever more.

Chorus

Coming from the hills and plains,
Deserts, cities, slums and farms,
Dancing when the sun goes down;
Sun comes up, the Dance goes on.

Chorus

Not a theological treatise.