Let your Spirit take Flight! (dance)

On By Michele LeeIn Dancing, Dreams, Verse, Video
Grounded, I know how to be.
Feet planted for
        writing,
           teaching,
              listening,
                 gardening,
                    meditating,
                       photographing,
                          cooking and serving,
                             bed-side tending,
                                and for clothes and hearts that need mending.

A responsible grown-up – you can count on me
most of the time
I am a focused woman moving through tasks
but sometimes
I must toss aside those form-fitting hats
and slip into the little girl who wore pink tights and who tapped on a hard-wood floor
in an old house, into a dance studio transformed.

There, in that space, that I can still see, hear, and smell,
I fell in love with the click of my heel, the lift of my toe, and the grace of a twirl,
as I became one with a song and with others spinning along.

I left that space long ago, but my dancing spirit has never left me –
she took me to places that without her,
I never would have ventured to go.

She kicked high and shook pom-poms low;
she danced on stages during high school shows;
she danced at clubs until the sun did rise as a free-spirited young woman wanting to take flight;
she learned jazz routines with another brave soul, entertaining audiences while dancing daughters fidgeted behind the scenes until it was their time to go;
she has danced in thousands of classes, with dancers with varied abilities, of all ages, and in all shapes and sizes, in gyms, public spaces, in studios, and through streaming video.

I don’t have a dusty scrapbook full of dancing accolades.
I have something better – a dancing spirit that remains.

I am sharing another clip from my “We Deserve to Dream” by Xavier Rudd dance video. I shared the first clip in March and dedicated my dance to a friend who had recently passed. She was a beautiful and devoted mom. I will think of her during this weekend of honoring loving and nurturing women. 💞 My Mother’s Day weekend will begin with joining my dancing tribe in Tucson. We will dance, reconnect, and honor women who have made a difference in our lives. It is sure to be a moving experience in the Old Pueblo, as our feet move, and hearts expand in front of a gorgeous mountain backdrop. 💃🏻🏜️🌞 Wishing all the loving and nurturing moms, which can also include men, a wonderful weekend full of laughter and love. Thank you for visiting and watching. Be well. 💗 Michele

Dancing is a gift that I never take for granted. A gift I almost lost due to a serious injury. My story about this experience, “Please Let Me Dance again” was published last April on the site: PhoebeMD: Health + Inspiration. Today, I will celebrate other women and my ability to dance!

💃🏻🕺🏻💃🏼🕺🏼💃🏽🕺🏽💃🏾🕺🏾

“We Deserve to Dream” by Xavier Rudd
(dance excerpt)
………………………………
Every breakin hour tho a little more would break
And the courage could be summoned to bring about some change
And the plans would form to build a brand new castle
To the sky we’d soar with the wings of an eagle
Stone cold sober with whiskey on my breath
South America runnin thru my head
With you I was taken
It was you I was not mistaken
You belong here and you belong with me

And all of your secrets are safe with me
We been high darlin we been low
And all of it’s helped us grow
We belong here and we deserve to dream

All we want is runnin down the mountains
And all we need is flowin thru the trees
All we have is swimmin in the ocean
And all we can do is be the best that we can be

Featured image by Sandyman (copyrighted)

© 2022 MyInspiredLife

127 thoughts on “Let your Spirit take Flight! (dance)”

  1. This popped into my box. What joy!! I love your spirit of dancing and reconnecting with your dance tribe. It gives me such joyful energy to move through my day. I do wish I could dance as you!! Thank you for this lovely piece.

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    1. How wonderful! It is a treasure to keep my inner child alive, in the ways I do, in the ways she does. 😊 Something we should all be intentional about with each passing year. ✨ Thank you for the beautiful comment, Brad. Turn yours free! Turn up the music and dance! 🕺🏻💖🕺🏻

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    1. How wonderful and dancing into the golden years is a worthy goal, yes! I derive tremendous joy from watching older people, in their 80s and beyond, dance. At any age, dancing can connect us to our inner child. Thank you, Ken. I appreciate your enthusiasm. 🙏🏻

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    1. I am so glad you enjoyed my dance clip and poem. Thank you, sweet Thattamma. Your kindness and support is greatly appreciated. With Mother’s Day (US) arriving tomorrow, I wish you a special day with your beautiful family. 💐💞💐

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  10. Happy Mother’s Day my dancing partner Queen.,. Beautiful post.
    love this and agree”:
    💖💖
    “A responsible grown-up – you can count on me
    most of the time”
    Love all of your reflections in words and movement my Michele! 💖
    “

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  12. Oh how you have warmed my heart Michele. And as a responsible adult…cough, cough…😲 I too dance with you my dear. I love your free spirit and for not allowing an incident to take your love for dancing away. How heartwarming to remember and honor your friend who recently passed away.

    🍹 I drink in your beautiful poetry and we deserve to dream, and we deserve to dance while we are dreaming. 😊 Have a FANtabulous Mother’s Day Michele my Belle. 🤗🌺😍🎵💃🏽💐🥳🦋💖🌹💃🏼

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    1. I love reading that I warmed you heart, Kymbelina. The feeling is mutual. 💗 We are mostly responsible. haha Thank you, for joining me in connecting with the ever-needed dancing spirits that flow through our bodies and pens, and for your thoughtful comments that acknowledge my friend and my poem. 🙏🏻 Thank you, it should be a lovely Sunday. 🌞 You are a dancing gem! 💃🏽💎💖💎💃🏻

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      1. Oh Your Royal Sweetness 👑 you make me feel like dancin’ (channeling my inner Leo Sayer)! 😂😜🤣 Your post crossed so many dimensions of compassion, empathy, encouragement, and inspiration. This was another one of your “feel good” reflections. I am so glad you shared a piece of Michele with us today in so many speak easy ways! 🤗💋😘 Happy Mother’s Day my dear friend. And don’t you dare stop dancing. I got my groove on today and thanks so much for the gentle push to do so. I think you had a lot of folks dancing today my funalicious friend!!! 💃🏼🎵🎷🥳🎸🎶💃🏽

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Jeff! So sweet of you to write such gracious thoughts about my dancing and writing. 😊 It is a joy for me, and if I can share that feeling in any way, and have it ripple out into the world, my joy grows exponentially. 💃🏻✍🏻💗 It has been a wonderful day, connecting with my dancing ladies in the Old Pueblo. 💞 Magical moments when I connect with them! Thank you for the Mother’s Day wishes. 🙏🏻 Enjoy your Sunday! 🌳🌞

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      1. You’re most welcome, Michele! 💞Always. I do know it is a joy for you, and the joy always comes through and into our hearts. 💖 Wonderful! Ah, glad you got to connect with friends. That’s lovely. Ah, thank you for the Sunday wishes! 🌳🌞

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  14. How very VERY gorgeous. Adored. Poetry, Video, your words and sentiments about you. What a wonderful way to honor the day.
    I dance. In my kitchen. Never had lessons of any kind but I dance my own dance and I feel like the dancing queen. My boys always thought I was that. Haha. And I sing too.
    Happy Mothers’ Day xoxo.

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  15. Your comment is gorgeous. Thank you, Selma! 🤗 It has been a wonderful day full of special moments, inspiring women, and dancing, of course! 💗 I love that you dance in your kitchen! Prime dancing location! Makes the food taste better. 😃 Thank you! Happy Mother’s Day, dancing Queen! 👸

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    1. Thank you, Dwight. I had a special weekend connecting with my dancing sisters in southern Arizona. 💞 I suppose I have been a mother/teacher to many – thank you for recognizing that special calling. 🙏🏻I hope to keep dancing to the end of my days! 💃🏻🙏🏻

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  22. Beautiful inspiration and wisdom permeated each line and each moment gesture, dear Michele! I love seeing you dance and spread the blessings of your embodied practice of joy, love, and poetry! Bravo!!!!

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    1. So glad to see and read you in my dance-inspired post. Finding my music and letting the music flow through me are incredible gifts at this stage of my life. A most inspiring stage! Thank you very much, talented dancing poetess Annabel. Your authentic light radiates, in your writing and dancing. 💖

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  24. Your form is always very lovely, dear Michele ~ whether flowing in poetic expression through words, or floating as light as a feather in a delightful dance on wooden floors. Yours is a spirit of great and enduring beauty.

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  26. Hello dear Michele and thank you for what you do. I need a week with you. My sleeping spirit would come alive. You are a wonder and a miracle. I am falling backward dear friend. You make me go one step forward. I love your hopeful voice. Thank you, dear Michele.

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    1. It is my pleasure and privilege to create and share. Thank you, Coyote, for acknowledging my efforts. 🙏🏻 A writer’s/dancing retreat in sunny AZ – now there’s an idea! ✨ I am honored to read that you have found hope and inspiration here. 💖I enjoy your writing and appreciate your gracious comment on this post. Thank you.

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      1. All of us struggle dear Michele. Today I must decide who I am. Maybe I am in the wrong place, and I must stand in the right place. Thank you for what you do. You made me smile.

        Liked by 1 person

  33. I appreciate the fluid quality of your movement and the thoughtful aspect as well. (When you make a tapping movement, it’s as if you’re working something out in thought.) I hope you weekend trip was grand. I have no doubt that women were honored gracefully.

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    1. Thank you for the lovely comment, clcouch. Tapping to the beat and to thought, yes, Very good! I had a wonderful weekend, thank you. I am graced with special connections down south. 🌞 I am also grateful for amazing and interesting writer and reader connections in WP land. 🙏🏻

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      1. I’m glad you had such a good time down south. I’ve only been to that region once, though I’m told it would be good for my health. I look forward to more works of yours.–Christopher

        Liked by 1 person

  35. This is really beautiful! I love your poem and the energy inside each line and loved watching you dance. Very expressive combined with the beauty of the music and lyrics, a real treat. I am so glad to see someone putting themselves out there doing what feels right, part of who you are. Beautiful post and truly lovely dancing. Thank you for sharing with us my friend. Happy Wednesday! Big hugs and keep dancing!

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    1. Thank you so much Joni! I am grateful for the time and heart you put into your comment. 🙏🏻💖 Thank you also, for recognizing that movement is an important part of who I am. I believe it is important for each of us to express art, however it shows up in us. Sharing is only part of the journey, but I think it an important one. From the first to the last word, your comment warms my heart – what I love most is being lifted up by another expressive woman who is sharing her voice and beauty with the world. Cheers to artistic expression, dancing, and supporting each other! 🥂 🤗

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