Takin’ off ‘dem boots and dancin’
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My toes came out of hibernation yesterday. They’ve been buried under layers of tights and socks, then caved in boots for a good five months now. A few steps upon the wood floor, it dawned on me how good it feels to walk barefoot again in my living room.
There was something raw and pure about feeling the wood beneath my toes…nothing barring the naked touch of my heels to the smooth, at times, scuffed surface beneath. Nothing impeding my awareness of my own rough, at times, too calloused skin. No itchy layer of rough material, no cramping nylon, no heavy, clunky, unfeminine boot….
Golly, the simple shedding of these impediments felt like a cause for celebration. Man I dig barefooted-ness, its liberation tickles my soul! Nothing forbidding this renewed bond between my body and the ground upon where I stand.
And while walkin’ barefoot on hardwoods pales in comparison to skinny dipping in warm ocean waters, I could not just ignore the glee of the present moment in my cozy Bostonian South End nook. So, with a few clicks on itunes, I began groovin’ with rays of the sun’s light to the deep rhythm of Seal’s moody melodies.
But yet a few songs into my moves, my thoughts were doing more than just dancin’. I giggled as I pondered how good it feels to glide around uninhibited not feeling exposed for a moment. And then I asked myself: what would it take to allow me to do so likewise in all aspects of my life? What other dances could I sway into if I shed the stuff encaving my heart—you know– those mental layers inhibiting me from really living my authentic ‘me’ …..my true ‘I’ …my genuine being?
Hence what brings me blogging to this page…to sift through this pondering…to write through the layers I’m shedding and how, because these days I’m realizing I don’t want to waste any more moments booted up and hibernating, clinging to inhibitions or false expectations. No more do I wish to run away from resolving this question, though I’ve trekked across country and back a coupla times to avoid doing so.
But to help you, the reader, throw your arms around what I’m talking about when I say ‘the stuff encaving my heart’ I’m meaning any self-concept, interpretation, expectation—really any thought—that is standing in the way of living my authentic self…the stuff that I’ve clunged to for years thinking rather ignorantly but typically, ‘this is what constitutes right life, right?’
You can relate I’m sure. Sometimes such thoughts are the deep layers of one’s history or upbringing, family’s expectations that over time you unconsciously adopt on what comprises true happiness, what equates to real success, what defines productivity and fulfilment.
And still other times, these thoughts aren’t so deep… sometimes they’re right there on the surface…all the tooing and frow-ing keeping us so busy we neglect asking ourselves that very question my toes’ first spring dance tickled me to ponder: ‘how can I live the me I am…in all her raw, clear, pure beauty?
Surely one blog entry isn’t enough to give an honest response to the question. But it’s a beginning. And for me, at present, creates a focus for my contributions to this blog…
So let me simply offer this: My hand is outstretched to yours, welcoming you to join with me, and take a peak at all the layers we’ve each clung to defining who we are. Surely, I’m not talking about clothing styles or careers. I am speaking about the you you seek to live. Because, maybe, just maybe, there’s a ballet or a salsa, a jazz or a mambo you are just bursting to dance like me.
Think about it:
a. What have you outgrown, causing you to feel stagnant and outdated?
b. What are you holding onto out of obligation that’s really just weighing you down
c. What’s never really felt like it fit, but you wore it anyway because you thought that was the right way to be/live?
d. What’s felt outa range, and yet not trying it on or wearing it is making you feel under—accomplished and unachieved?
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C’mon and get barefoot with me. Let’s dance around our living rooms, turn the music up real loud, and let our hearts, our lives, dance as we’ve been yearning to! I know I’m not putting my socks or boots back on…not til I perfect these new moves….and even then, I may very well stay barefoot, leaping, twirling, shimmyin’ and groovin’ forward into this grand dance that is life!
Til the next song…much peace to you and be well, Tre