Thursday, November 15, 2012

One II

I have a secret to tell you. I've been taking ballet classes. For the first time. Ever. "What? At your age?", I can hear you ask. Yes, and I'm twenty years younger than the oldest student in my class. There are some amazing things I've learned, taking ballet. It's hard, very hard. Moving your arms and legs about simultaneously and often in opposite directions, while trying to keep up with an instructor speaking French is hard.  Your mind reels as you try to remember what a Pas de Basque is while keeping your shoulders down, your arms in a perfect graceful curve and your tummy tightened. And sometimes, I do miserably. But I keep going back BECAUSE it is hard, and it feels good to do hard things and feel yourself progress. These things translate nicely to other parts of life. You don't give up just because a thing is hard, you just try harder and keep trying until you get the thing right, because that moment when you really nail a Pas de Basque? There's nothing else like it. And then maybe you too might be tempted to add Modern dance to the mix.

2 comments:

Dave said...

I applaud your bold move to take on this challenge. I've learned lots of new things as an adult that overwhelmed me when I was young. I think I'm figuring out the payoff for growing up.

Good luck on this endeavor.

Rita Finn said...

Thank you, Dave! It's amazing to me, the lessons that we wait so long to learn. I hope you don't put too much energy into growing up and remember the value of deep play!

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