HALCYON DAYS
Remember childhood summers, the ones we wanted to go on forever? It was hot, yes, but there were sprinklers to run through, ice water to drink from the fridge, a fan or A/C vent to lie under, the local pool – or maybe a lake or the beach – to visit. We played alone, and with school friends, the neighborhood gang, siblings and cousins, even parents.
Now we seem stuck in a different kind of endless summer, one of unprecendented conditions: record heat waves, societal unrest and insanity, personal isolation, vigilant caution and tension when going out in public. It is not halcyon.
We are human, and most of us in the Dance community are tribal beings who thrive on interactions with others, the synergy of singing and dancing together, eating, laughing, praying, hugging, even crying. We miss that; right now we are doing our best under deprivation conditions.
Some days are ok, right? We are content and happy in our isolation and comparative quiet. Other days are almost too much to bear. Pretending it isn’t happening and is not affecting us, whether through denial or “rising above it”, is exhausting. Wholeness means allowing everything, even the weight and darkness, to flow through us, sitting with the sensations – “I see you” – and taking the best possible care of ourselves.
We’re all in this together, even separately. Stop for a moment and visualize a Dance camp, feel the love and connection emanating from it. That connection and love sustains us even we aren’t together. On a day when you feel content, reach out and connect with someone who might need to hear from a friend (hint: if someone crosses your mind, maybe that’s a call). On days when you feel overwhelmed, reach out and connect with someone; give yourself the reminder that you’re not alone. And if that isn’t possible, watch Dennis’ videos from the camps; they’re on his YouTube channel (Dennis Roshay).
We can’t do Sweet Caroline right now (“hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching you”), at least not in the physical, but we can do it with our voices, our emails, our shared photos, our participation in Zoom sessions, and through the ethers. Carry on, Beloveds!
