Competition

I live a pretty ordinary life, living in Florida, a state known for its paradise beaches as well as destructive hurricanes. For the last thirty years, I have been a physician assistant and I currently work Monday through Friday in a large healthcare system. At this point in my career, I have a pretty tame position, or at least I did until COVID came along. Be even still, after long days dressed in personal protective equipment, I come home, exercise, eat dinner and then read a book or watch TV; then it's off to bed. It really is a pretty boring life except for the one thing I live for; my dance life.

You see I am a competitive ballroom dancer. I started dancing at the age of 53 while I was going through a tough period in my life. Dancing became my moving meditation practice and helped me regain my health, my self-confidence and self-esteem. I have been dancing ever since. The last ten years of dancing competitions have filled my life with grace and joy. When I first started, I was awful. Mixing my left foot up with my right foot was just the beginning of my problems but somehow, with each lesson, with each competition, I got better. I now have multiple medals and trophies to show for it. Normal for me, is preparing for a competition several months ahead of time. But, because of COVID there are no competitions to get ready for right now.

I know it sounds trivial with all that's going on in the world, maybe even tone-deaf. It's not only the movement that is so important to me. I have learned so many life lessons on the ballroom floor. Things like patience, teamwork and tolerance for differences. I love the cultural diversity that dancing exposes me to. Dancing has encouraged me to listen to my imaginative center and open my mind to other's creative talent. Learning to dance has taught me that the journey is the best part; there is nothing better than setting your intentions and watching your goal come to life with hard work. In dancing, it's all about attitude. If you think you can then you can. I love that. But most of all, dancing has taught me not to fear change, because if I don't change, I can't grow.

Competition is where all those lessons come together. Where a very diverse community of people of all ages meet up every few months and practice their skills and share their experiences with each other. Someone once said, "it's hard to dance and be worried." I would have to agree. With all the ugliness of the world right now and all the illness and dying that I see in my work- life, competition brings a form of grace and beauty to my very tedious life that otherwise wouldn't be there. A combination of athleticism and art that brings me tremendous joy. When I am on the dance floor with my partner I feel like a little girl, playing with my best friend. We learn to unravel the puzzle of a dance routine together. It gives me the feeling of being on a swing going as high as I possibly can. When I dance, I am free.

Obviously, COVID has put a stop to competitions for now, likely for the rest of this year. As the world tries to figure out how best to manage the COVID virus I continue to practice and work with my partner as if we could go to competition any day now. Doing so gives me hope that tomorrow may be a better day and soon I will return to my "normal".