Sing
and Dance
“Pampering
has not gotten the attention and publicity it deserves since the days of Cleopatra…if
we generously love ourselves, we will be more effortlessly inclined to want to
express and share ourselves with others.”
Jill
Badonsky (The Nine Modern Day Muses-and a Bodyguard, p.123; Gotham Books, 2001)
I’ve
been paying attention to synchronicity in my life, and today I have a funny
story to illustrate. Yesterday was a crazy day—I had an appointment with my
oncologist that had been scheduled for last week, but since my insurance had
not yet approved it, was rescheduled for yesterday. I wanted to get it behind
me since it would be the final one—five years out with no recurrence. So, I
drove to UAB, navigated the 10 corkscrew floors of the parking deck, took multiple
hallways and overpasses, through several buildings and finally, after asking
directions three times, found my doctor’s clinic. The woman at the desk said, “I’m
sorry, ma’am, we don’t’ have you on the books for today.” So, I rescheduled—again—and
traveled the miles back to my car and home. To say I was a bit aggravated would
be fair. This is the latest installment in my experience with the frustrating, “best
in the world” American medical establishment. But it’s also a case of “you get
what you expect to get.”
This
morning, I woke with a song in my head, “Tell Him” by the Exciters!
“I know something about love—you’ve gotta
want it bad. If that guy’s got into your blood, go out and get him…Tell him
that you’re never gonna leave him, tell him that you’re always gonna love him…tell
him, tell him, tell him right now…”
Now, I’m 76, and this is
not exactly where my head is, but I couldn’t stop myself from dancing and
singing it to dog-Liza, who looked at me with great concern and consternation,
and pointed with her nose to her empty food bowl. I just felt so good I couldn’t
rein it in. So, when I got to my desk, the book, Nine Modern Day Muses
was laying on top of my laptop. I randomly flipped it open to a chapter titled,
“Muse Song” about Nurturing, Encouragement, and Good Company. The anonymous
quote at the top of the page is, “A friend is someone who knows the song in
your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.” It's
about self-love being a conduit for “flowing creative expression.”
Don’t ask me what these
two days have to do with each other—I don’t know, but I do know this: I trust
them. We do make our own assumptions and live into them, like I have done with
the medical establishment. And we also have a song within us that encourages us
to sing and dance and praise life itself. Love, as expressed in “Tell Him” is about
libidinal energy, which is why I couldn’t resist singing and dancing. It is the
same energy that propels and drives creativity of any sort. The Muses are the mystical
energies that enliven our creative juices, and this morning they wanted me to sluff off
my aggravation and feel the love flowing through me.
It is that free flowing love that enables us
to reach out to our fellow humans and invite them into our lives. They know our
song, and we know theirs. And, truly, that’s the only thing that matters in this
crazy, mixed-up world. Sing it out loud, people!
In the Spirit,
Jane
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