It comes over me that at Waves, and perhaps in the 5Rythms, there are no strangers. We welcomed people into our midst for the weekend and with Amara's gentle guidance and each persons willingness, in the container of the dance space we became a tribe. Of course each person brings their idiosyncracies and baggage, and some strange-sounding things get spoken during the course of the workshop, but the feeling I got was that we were all just as present as we each could be, just being ourselves and being human, and each of us equally and vitally important to the whole experience.
Deepening, unfolding, challenging, engaging, softening, uplifting and sharing compassion are some words that come to mind to describe my experience. Coming to peace with what is, even if what is is not peaceful. Accepting pain, longing or some other experience of discomfort as message-bearers and gift-givers, and staying with that experience, not turning away towards the comfort of the familiar.
There were so many poignant moments in the dance, and at the potluck gathering on The Bluff. Four of us canoed out to the end of the inlet to find the sunset over Puget Sound, just as the tide was cresting. The sun was already down, the sky glowed flame-orange cyan-periwinkle-indigo. The thinnest sliver of moon rested just so, above the silhouetted trees. The herons croaked, the kingfishers cackled, the waves lapped our canoe, and we were overcome.
