Well what can say about this week? It has been the week that seems like the week that I have been eagerly awaiting. We (my dance partner and I) finally after three years of battling the way to the top, won our way into Masters on the dance circuit that we dance on. Masters is the very best of the best and you cannot ascend to a higher level and I am beyond humbled that I have even made it the end of one of my roads and the beginning of a new one. It is above all an honor and a pleasure to say that I will share the dance floor with my mentors and fellow dancers that I have always and will always look up to. The continuous want and desire to learn more and grow not only as a dancer but also as human being is so real and something that I never want to lose. The gift of dancing and sharing what I love each and ever day is the best gift I could ever ask for. My students say that I make their day better but in truth they make mine so much better by being such a big part of my life.
It would have been so easy at so many points to give up and not push forward. It is a huge commitment to give up so much free time for so many hours in the studio to fulfill a dream that is not just your dream but your dance partner’s dream as well. It’s a tricky place to be, in the whole thinking of someone else and not just yourself thing. I would love to say that I am perfect at putting everyone else before me but I am far from perfect. Dancing has taught me that it is joint effort to get to the destination. As everyone has said, one must enjoy the journey to where ever it is that you are destined to go. That many times we may be knocked down and sometimes we won’t always win at what we want to win at. Taking second place when all you want is first is a hard lesson to learn. Dancing this journey has taught me that things don’t always happen when we want them to. That patience can and will wear thin. It is then where our actions rather than just reactions speak louder than words. Reaction all on it’s own has no true depth. It is fleeting and may only last for a short time. An action makes an impression and will inevitably make a bigger impression in someones life and may help in more ways than we will ever know. It is a natural and human response to want to react to what place we find ourselves in. What we do in each situation is a choice we make every day.
As life moves forward and things continuously change I am reminded as I am so many times over, that I am not in control of everything. Sometimes I think that I have the perfect plan. Two years ago I had planned to win Masters and two World Dance titles in one fell swoop. I thought it would be so perfect. I practiced and practiced and thought I had a really good shot at winning. As it turned out I did not win and the feelings of doubt and not being good enough crept in. The lesson of learning how to deal with not reaching what I thought was such an attainable gaol and not making it was tough. Somehow though I found the strength and desire to try again. This time it had to be different though. It couldn’t just be about a goal or being the perfect dancer. I had to learn that journey was part of what would make me better and stronger person. It would be a complete lie to say that it was easy and that I thought I was enough. There were so many times that looked in the mirror and thought there was no way that I could make myself a better dancer. That there was no way to push harder and become more than I was before. That’s when I realized that it wasn’t about winning and having the title World Champion. My journey became one about learning more than I ever thought possible. I may never have the title World Champion but I could be the best dance teacher and dancer that I ever wanted to be. That was a freeing moment. I had come to discover just what enjoying the journey meant.
If everything we ever wanted came easily and without effort than we would never truly enjoy what we worked so hard to accomplish. It is not an easy feat to work hard and see no immediate result. But one does not get the ideal body by not working out. It takes work , a lot of work and discipline. An accomplishment is worth so much more when we know that we have worked out hardest for it. If everything were given to us just because we wanted it we would never appreciate what we have. The value of something worked for lasts and makes the journey of how we got to where we are is worth more than effort when we finally reach the destination we have long awaited.
I am reminded daily that this world is so temporary. The final destination is what really matters. It is however what we do with our time here that matters most. How many changes can we encourage with one small moment of seeing what the change can really be. Do we just give up when the going gets tough? Or do we try our best to push forward and make the best of the times that things don’t always go our way. I remember one of my most influential mentors telling me that sometimes it was a scary thing to be too happy. That just when things seemed to fall into place and everything seemed perfect, life would take hold and tip the proverbial apple cart over. Apples would fly and then what does a person do? Do we just pick the apples back up and pretend it didn’t happen? Or do we indeed pick the apples steady the cart and learn why the cart tipped over in the first place? If we didn’t have bumps along the way we would never learn how to pick the pieces back up and put life back together again.
It would have been so much easier sometimes to have given up on my dream and not continue on the journey to becoming a Masters level dancer. There was plenty of blood, sweat, frustration, and tears along the way. Without those tough moments though, I would have never become the person I am today. I am quite certain that in a few months there will be a whole new set of lessons and hard knocks being learned and I will yet again grow by leaps and bounds. Today I am beyond thankful for the ability to dance and the fact that I can share what I love so much with so many people around me. So here is to a week of doing what you love and never giving up. Yes, it is quite the road to walk sometimes and it is not easy to take the road less traveled. But life is worth the journey and you never know what difference you can make when you have a heart to see the best in people and places and in the world we live in. Do what you love, smile because you can, eat the bowl of ice cream and never forget to tell the ones you love that you love them. Life can be such an adventure when we let it. Be thankful for all the moments. The good the bad and the in between. The way each moment shapes can make you and the world a better place. Here is to a great week and continued journey of always being better than we thought that we could be. Remember that you never walk the world alone and the ones that surround you in love and support in the good times and the bad will be the ones that will walk where ever it is that we may need them the most.