Last weekend my husband and I attended a dance competition to watch our ten-year-old granddaughter. She does highland dance and the accompanying music is provided by a piper.
As well as the traditional Highland Fling, there was also a Santa Fling. We had fun watching the dancers do the traditional steps to a bagpipe version of Jingle Bells!
During the morning, I learned some dances can have variations to steps and arm movements. Not all dance schools teach the same version and this is totally acceptable to the judges.
I commented to my daughter that it must be distracting for a dancer to have the person beside her doing different movements. She told me it was the responsibility of the dancer to be aware of the space around her. If one bumped into another both would be penalized.
The footwork is quite intricate and I could appreciate the difficulty of focusing on their own moves without becoming distracted by others doing different steps. At the same time, they need to constantly be aware of those nearby. A lack of concentration could cause problems for more than themselves.
This was such a good analogy for life. There are multiple ways of getting from point A to point B. I don’t have to do it the same way as everyone else. The important things to remember are to focus on my own steps rather than trying to match the ones someone else is taking and to ensure my movements are not going to cause problems for those around me. My goal is to master this as well as those young dancers did.
A heavy rain had fallen overnight. We woke up to the promise of a brighter day and headed outside to breathe in the fresh, clean air that follows a summer rain.