mfinley's Xanga Site - 3/12/2005 7:32:58 AM

mfinley's Xanga Site - 3/12/2005 7:32:58 AM

John I'm Dancing

I spent last night doing modern dance. Honest.

I got a mailing a month ago from the Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater Company. They do an annual conference called WASH ("Working with Artists, Sharing the Healing"). They gather together a number of caregivers (people who take care of people who are sick or disabled or dying) with artists. I was on the artist mailing list this time around, so I thought, why the hell now, and signed up.


This was unusual for me. First, I have never been known to move. My dance routine should fit on a barstool because that is my mental locus of movement. Contained. Whimsical. Dignified.


But I went. I figured, I took care of my mom the last year of her life, and I have two kids that sometimes require a lot of caregiving.


So we got together, and as a way to let down our guard with one another, we did some floor time, walking, bobbing, sweeping, touching. I was proud of myself , cuz I was out there making a jackass out of myself (this is my honest inner assessment) just like the rest.


Afterwards, of course, you feel freer, unembarrassed, and closer to the others. I suppose it's like karaoke -- public humiliation that is also a kind of yoga. the Stockholm Syndrome probably plays a role in it too.


What can I provide this group? I was thinking of group-writing some kind of caregiver's prayer, or a mantra to get people through difficult days. We'll see.