Dance To Feel ALIVE!
I believe that in the daily dance of life you learn what it means to feel alive.
Traveling does that for me. It provides me with a broader life perspective. I find that it stretches my mind beyond the limited view of location, and I am never the same person after a trip. I guess I learn new steps during this passionate sensual tango routine with life!
A recent trip to Belize provided unlimited “life dancing” opportunities. I reflected on what moments there made me feel alive and I figured out a way to box these moments in four categories: Moments of Fear, Pain, Faith and Love.
The experiences below brought a little bit of each at times. *Please note: I am afraid of heights and I am terrified of the sea (or any body of water for that matter!)
The ride in a small plane from Belize to Dangriga…all 13 spots full…sitting behind the pilot…the plane was carrying people’s luggage too! This was one of the longest fearful dances of my life…15 minutes long!
The zip lining experience in Belize’s Bocawina rainforest, gliding like a bird at high speed through the rainforest on the longest zip line in Belize with 12 platforms, and a free fall! The complete course is 2.5 miles long with the longest single run being 2,300 feet. This was followed by a hike to the Bocawina waterfall where I did my own “rappel” exercise without harness or any support, just using the hanging tree roots for just a mere 40ft down, but an adventure indeed! Sitting at the bottom of the waterfall while the water furiously hit my neck and back, I cleared my mind completely in the process.
The water taxi ride from Dangriga to Tobacco Caye island one afternoon, in the wild and furious Caribbean Sea waters. I seriously thought we would flip and that I would drown! But the captain was so calm that I almost died, but of laughter! HA!
The stormy night in Tobacco Key in a cabin on top of the water, the zinc roof, the eerie sound of the wind howling…this experience brought many childhood memories to the surface that I have honestly chosen to forget, but I sat there alone, in silence and went through it all. I danced with the fear and the pain of the memories. This was one of the longest hours. I just sat in it as my heart pounded fast and heavy through it.
Every night, I would sit in my porch, alone late at night to look into the water and the dark horizon while also admiring how the skies lit up and became full of beautiful stars.
The experience of being stranded in the middle of the Caribbean sea in a small boat relying on a complete stranger to get us all to safety.
Snorkeling in the aquamarine waters and enjoying myself for being brave and “dancing in it” just to feel terrified to do so the next day.
And, last but not least, standing at the top of the edge of El Castillo at the Maya ruins of Xunantunich, menacing winds blowing, just to take that picture at the top!
Yet all of these examples of fear, alongside with pain, were dissipated each new day with the most gorgeous sunrises I have seen. Those fearful moments brought me back to faith each time and oddly enough to the dance of love every morning with the sunrise.
Those full of fear moments would have never prepared me for the last night in Belize…the most beautiful full moon I have seen in my life too! The sound of the drums and the people singing, dancing and sharing the moment with me, all of us, in a remote island in Belize. It sounds like something that happens to rich people in a movie…well, I consider myself rich now!
And yet, the key point here: The realization that I have never felt more alive than at this point of my life. What a dance that was! YES, I did DANCE under the full moon in Belize! As I contoured my body to the sound of the music and let go of stupid inhibitions, my Afro-Caribbean and indigenous island roots came out fully…and I experienced the best dance of my life, no dance partner but myself, in a remote island in Belize.
Those experiences made me think deeply about home, my family and everything and everyone else in my life. It made me ponder the daily fearful, painful, faithful and loving “dances” that we take for granted in the moment.
For everything that brings fear and pain also makes you feel alive, and everything that makes you feel loved indeed does the same. The gentle reminder from the “passcode” given to me to access the Internet in Belize… Proverbs 3:1 (Faith)
Although Belize did not “change my life” as a dear friend once told me about her Belize experience, it did make me realize the growth and dance within my soul. How was it that the same fear and pain I was once terrified of, while surrendered in faith, had brought me back to life…and to dance again.
Wishing that your life dance brings you back to feeling ALIVE!
Much Love and Keep on Dancing!
