"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Nietzsche
Two weeks ago while visiting my mom in a nursing home, she told me that in the early 1940's when she was a dancer of 'Natural Dance,' they wore bare-feet because it was better for the muscles of their feet... and then she started to laugh - she said she was just 'told' that that was not the reason they wore bare-feet. However, because she was giggling so much, she was unable to tell me the real reason, as shared to her by the 'spirit voice' she heard.
Today, while visiting my mom, when the music therapist was playing the piano she asked me to stop talking as she just 'heard' that there were dancers outside in the rain dancing. She then proceeded to tell me that they were all wearing long raincoats... I thought this image sounded quite beautiful in my mind's eye.
I reminded her that she had a raincoat, and perhaps I could do a dance in the rain for her... A few minutes later, the music still playing, she again told me to be quiet so she could hear the 'incoming message' and then she shared that there was someone 'there' that wanted to dance with me... this someone, of course, does not exist in the realm in-which we can see...
Like the day I drove here, tonight was pouring with rain and I wasn't feeling optimistic I would find a place to practice on my drive home 3 hours south. After leaving the house and driving down the street after saying goodbye to my dad, I did a u-turn and turned back to grab my mom's raincoat from the front closet, just in case. After an hour of driving, once again, just as the sun was setting, the sky to the west cracked opened and I detoured off the highway to dance beside this field, while it was still raining lightly.
I symbolically extended my hand, in tonight's practice, to the spirit whom my mom saw, to dance with spirit, honoring my mom and her 'vision,' while also honoring all those labeled with mental health disease and being delusional - who is to say that the spirit beings she sees are not real? Perhaps it is our limited vision that prevents us from seeing what is 'real.'
It was a joy to dance by this field in the twi-light, where the veil between the seen and unseen is most translucent... feeling a connection to the spirit realm with this dance...
I just found this quote tonight: "A ray of light somehow found its way into my soul, a ray of light nurtured by the spirits of the dead. Streaming into my soul, it invited both the dead and the living to take each others hand and dance together..." Kazuo Ohno, my butoh mentor's sensei, who passed away yesterday at the age of 103. Excerpt from "Kazuo Ohno's World: from Without and Within."
I loved seeing just as I was leaving, that the field I was dancing beside was an organic one.
Thank you for viewing my blog. I hope it may inspire you in some way - perhaps to dance with spirits and the un-seen near you :~)
Lee
If you double-click the photo below you can view it without the right side being cut-off :~)
Music: Chopin
Visit my butoh mentor's inspiring blog here: Maureen 'Momo' Freehill
Lovely! What a beautiful tribute to your mother. My mother saw spirits, too, when she was in a nursing home. She told me the spirits would talk to her, too. And when I asked her if she spoke to them, she said something like, "What, are you crazy. They're spirits."
ReplyDeleteThe raincoat seems alive in this piece. Did your mother get to see this?
You bring much beauty to the world. Thank you for the post.