“Dancing the Pain Away”
“Thousands of emotions well up inside me throughout the day. They are released when I dance.”~ Abraham Linonly.
When I am out on the dance floor, alone, music as loud as it will go, free to do whatever I want and however I want, there is a feeling of peace and tranquility that nothing else could ever satisfy me with. Many of my problems are solved on the dance floor, there has been a lot stress and anger that I have had to deal with and dancing seems to calm me down.
I remember a few years ago my dad had been offered a better job out of state. He had told us that he would take it and we would be leaving the small town I had grown up in less than three months. I was crushed and honestly I did not know what to do or think.
That night I had dance and I stayed an hour later to be alone and think about it all. My dance teacher said she had never seen me dance so passionately. I had pushed myself hard and hadn’t even realized it.
There are even times when I’m happy and still dance. Or if I am watching a dance movie or talking to someone about it makes me feel like I have to be doing something, I have to move my feet. It gives such a calm feeling that doing anything else could not supply me with. Unfortunately the only time I ever really push myself is when I am in a bad mood or unhappy.
The reason why I take all my problems to the floor is because I can imagine myself elsewhere. I can be anything I want to be without being criticized or questioned. I can do and think whatever I want without being told or how. I can imagine myself as being one with the music and the mirror. Sometimes I do not even want to look at myself so that is another thing I can concentrate on, another thing to keep my mind off all the problems.
There is an old saying my dance teacher used to tell us, “When the going gets tough, the tough get dancing!” Infect, she was the one who inspired me to take all my problems out in dancing. She told me that it always helps her clear her head, or if she needs to make an important decision it helped her to think it through and find the answer. She was right! Ever since then I have been dancing not only because I enjoy it but because it helps me deal with everything, whether it’s stress, anger, joy, or pain. I know I can always depend on it because it will always be there, I will never tire of it. I believe in dance. After all, all I will ever need is the music and the mirror!