Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Listen to the Drumbeat

Find Your Rhythm

In all cases, rhythm is the key. Become aware of all rhythms and see how yours fits in. If it feels right, you become the music and the dance you are dancing becomes a celebration of life.”
Jamie Sams (Sacred Path Cards)

On a whim this morning, I pulled the Sacred Path Cards off the shelf and drew one from the deck. The card I drew was Drum, which, as you might guess, is all about rhythm and beat. Specifically, it speaks of awareness of one's own rhythm. Anyone who's been in a band or a drumming circle knows that one person out of beat throws the entire cadence off. There are a couple ways to be out of rhythm; one is to be ahead of the beat, too fast, or too many beats to the bar. Another is to drop a beat or emphasize the wrong beat. Either way causes displeasure to the ear, not to mention the other players.

We can feel this in our daily life when we're trying to do too many things at once, or when we can't seem to find our stride. We're out of sync when we feel slow, or spacey, or when we race through our work and make mistakes. We misplace the car keys, we lose our shopping list, we forget to take the dog out and then have to clean up the mess, we miss appointments and are late to everything. When we're all work, and no play, we're out of sync. When we're all play and no work, etc. Being out of rhythm with one's self is an unpleasant experience. It tends to make us grouchy and unhappy, and irritates everyone around us.

Balance is the key, and awareness is the way to bring balance. We must first take notice of our pace, like taking a pulse. Most of us habitually move ahead of the beat, or behind it, so it takes some patience and some practice to achieve rhythm. Being in balance, however, brings such pleasure, it's worth the effort. Today, find your own music and dance to it.

                                                         In the Spirit,

                                                               Jane

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