What is your favorite thing to do?
I have a new team now. A team that I am deeply joyful to be a part of. It has made me start wanting to ask them the old ‘get to know eachother’ questions. This has led me to ask myself these questions. It’s always a great thing to get to know yourself.
So: What is my favorite thing to do?
Of course, there are many, but the first to pop into my head is typically the best one to go with. In this place and time, as I look at myself and my life, my favorite thing to do is waltz. I truly love waltzing from a place deep in my soul. However, as I travel the world, there are very few (so far none) opportunities to waltz. So I tend to find myself waltzing with the air from time to time. Just to remember how it feels.
What makes waltzing so special?
I’m glad you asked.
The thing that makes it so special, is the very thing that makes it so empty when I do it without a partner.
The partner is what makes it special. In order to waltz, you must have a follow and a lead. It is simply not possible for both dancers to follow at the same time, nor is it possible for both to lead. It is a beautiful and unique synergy of leading and following.
Want to know what I love even more than waltzing?! Waltzing blindfolded.
Yes, I said waltzing blindfolded.
A dear friend once told me that dancing with me was like leading air. It is one of the highest complements anyone has ever given me. I have, on more than one occasion, received feedback from leads that I follow well. I don’t write this boastfully; I want to make a point with it.
Back to blindfolds: I once had the great pleasure of practicing ballroom dance blindfolded. It changed so much.
I follow my leads well. Why? Because in order to follow well, you have to know what your partner is about to do before he does it. I’m good at that. I’ve been blessed with good instincts. I’ve also been blessed with a knack for noticing the ‘little things.’ Such as a change in posture or a slight change in the pressure of his hand against my back. Or perhaps noticing a change in where he is looking in the room.
There is also the very most important element of following well: you MUST. TRUST. YOUR. LEAD.
Now understand, I have been given PLENTY of reason to NOT trust leads. Honestly. Leads are human beings and they screw up sometimes. I’ve been dropped during dips, I’ve been rammed into nearby dancers, I’ve been in the middle of a complex move only to have my lead forget how it goes and we’re both left scrambling awkwardly to get back into rhythm… It happens.
So when I was told for the first time that I would be dancing blindfolded, a wide variety of potential issues flooded my thoughts. I nervously put on the blindfold; we started dancing. And my world changed. Naturally, my lead went easy on me. We started with just the basic step to get a feel for the rhythm. Then we tried a basic turn. And before I knew it, I was happily in that blissful state that is ballroom dancing.
I’m sure you’re wondering what on earth any of this has to do with my World Race. But don’t worry, I’m getting there.
So now I’m blinded, completely in the dark, trying my very best to predict and sense what we are doing without being able to see a thing. Completely reliant on the rhythm of the music I hear/feel, my instincts as a follow, and the subtle indications given me by my lead.
In that dance, I learned something inescapably powerful. It’s rather difficult for me to put into words so I will break it into two parts.
Firstly, I learned that I had to trust in myself every bit as much as I trust in my lead. It’s not just his responsibility to lead me; I have to choose to follow him, and I also MUST trust in how I choose to follow him. I have to trust in my instincts; I have to trust in my capability to read him. Trusting myself is every bit as vital as trusting in him. And without both trusts, the dance is, at best, very poor and difficult.
Secondly: I glimpsed what it really is to trust in the unseen. Just because I know what my lead is about to do based on the indications he’s given me, does NOT mean I am capable of reading his mind. I can only read a tiny bit into what’s coming. Just because I know that he is about to turn me, doesn’t mean I know what comes after that. We might return to the basic step, or he might turn me again and again and again before returning to the basic step. I only know one move at a time. When I was blinded and couldn’t see what was going on with my physical eyes, I had to trust him that much more. I couldn’t see that he was carefully observing our surroundings to make sure we didn’t run into anything, and I couldn’t see our surroundings myself to let him know if there was something in his blindspot. I even had to rely less on my own ability to read him, now that it had been limited, and trust more in his ability to guide me.
As we dance, the lead decides what we will do next preparing to step into the dance, automatically sending me signals, I perceive that we are about to change what we are doing and move accordingly as he guides me, we move to the music, we dance. Dancing is a beautiful repetition of this process. No two dances are exactly alike. I only know what we are about to do one step at a time, never knowing what is two steps ahead unless I recognize this move based on experience and practice. He trusts me to follow well and must trust himself to lead well. I trust him to lead well and must trust myself to follow well.
Surely by now you see what all this has to do with my race. I’m not just talking about dancing. I’m telling you why it’s my favorite thing to do. What it’s taught me. What I experience when I step into it.
Am I talking about my walk with God or waltzing with friends? Am I talking about relationships with teammates or marriage?
Go deeper my friends. Go deeper.
I’m so happy to have this chance to go deeper with my new team. I miss waltzing terribly, my heart aches to gracefully (I hope) move to that wonderful 1-2-3 rhythm, but at least I can recreate some of the beauty of it in the relationships I build out here.
Thanks for reading. I hope you can grow in some way because of the words I write. I’m still striving to reach my overdue $11000 deadline, and to get fully funded beyond that. So if you can spare anything to support my mission trip out here, I will be so very appreciative. Thanks again to all of you dear loved ones who are already supporting me. Much love to all.
