The first Beach Dance in June 2008.
Sometimes, it feels just like the first time. Sometimes, watching people experience Beach Dance for the first time is more enjoyable than having my own dance. I see expressions of utter joy and happiness. I notice grand gestures and subtle movements. I hear whoops of delight and cries of surrender. And after five years of bringing this form of ecstatic dance into the world, I am still in awe of it all.
It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since Beach Dance began. On a cool and cloudy day in Cannon Beach, Oregon, fifiteen hardy souls braved the weather and their own apprehensions and gave something new and different a go. Looking back, despite my own doubts and fears, I just knew it was something I had to. I had no idea (other than those fifteen friends of mine who came and danced with me that day) who would be interested. I had no idea how it would all unfold.
When I moved to Maui last September, again I was faced with those initial doubts and fears. Who would come and dance out in nature with me? Who might venture out of their comfort zone and dance their own creation with no rules except for the ones they imposed on themselves? Who would become a “fan” and return again and again? I couldn’t have planned the unfolding of Beach Dance any better than it has done entirely on its own.
When you are compelled do something, whether it’s following a dream or helping a stranger, you must heed that call to serve. Trust and faith and hope are intimately connected to one another. We all want to have and experience these qualities in our lives. When we allow ourselves to let go of our expectations and judgments and believe in the validity and goodness of our own experience, a spacious place is created for something magical to show up.
At some point, one begins to realize everything unfolds exactly the way it’s meant to be. I think that’s as good a definition of awe as any. I hope you experience your own sense of awe every day. I invite you to come and experience Beach Dance in Maui. Perhaps you’ll be in awe of it all, too.
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