the dance

'i get up.

i walk.

i fall down.

meanwhile, i keep dancing.'

- rabbi hillel 

danse - henri matisse

the photo of the metal was taken yesterday...


i have had hillel's words in my life for decades - in the form of a lovely little watercolor... and have embraced thinking of life as a dance...


then i read this post by seth godin,


thought about matisse, 


and rejoiced in the fact that while we often dance alone, when we invite others in the complex richness is enough to make your heart swell near to bursting... 

embracing our humanity

venture forth - each and every day... there is a big life picture, the journey, that we must keep our eyes on rather than the small human frailties we all are guilty of... make it right, keep going... the 'o' is a 'q'... a reminder of the mistakes we make - symbolic of how small they can be in relation to what is really important... 

'i get up.

i walk.

i fall down.

meanwhile i keep dancing.'

~ hillel

meanwhile i keep dancing

'i get up. i walk. i fall down.

meanwhile i keep dancing.'

~ hillel

this week ordinary courage took on the topic of worthiness... which got me to thinking - all week... 

loathe - v. - to feel disgust or intense aversion for 

accept - v. - to accommodate or reconcile oneself to

value - v. - to regard or esteem highly

applied to oneself - self-loathing, self-acceptance, self-worth... 

so how about - instead of shooting for self-acceptance, which is certainly better than self-loathing, we shoot for valuing ourSelves... knowing that we are worthy of fair treatment, love, kindness, forgiveness... but not because of contingencies... this is another fine line - but one i think is worth crossing... is necessary to cross... 

'i get up. i walk. i fall down...' we make mistakes, we get a raw deal, we grow... they do not make you less worthy... they make you human... how do you face the challenges?

'... meanwhile i keep dancing.' do you find the beauty and the joy that are present every single day? challenges are opportunities and sometimes they can bring you to your knees... but each one holds a gift... . 

'courage doesn't always roar.

sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day

saying, "i will try again tomorrow.'"

~ mary anne radmacher

sometimes the gift is as simple as learning that you didn't give up... that you got back on your feet - and that you are much, much, much more than enough... 

thanks to leann weih for not minding that i altered her pmc charms - they were integral in telling the story...