Dance onto the (En)train

 

       

        Under certain circumstances, when metronomes are placed in a room and are started at different times, eventually they all end up in exactly the same rhythm. If there are two guitars in a room, pluck a string on one, and the same string on the other instrument will vibrate in synchrony. This is called entrainment. (click here to see this in action)

         When we dance in the studio we also experience entrainment. We are all listening to the same music in a common space. We are doing the same choreography to the identical rhythm. If someone vocalizes, you realize that the rhythm of your breath would have allowed you to make noise at that same moment. We start to breathe in sync. And invariably, by the end of the class, we have all participated in lifting each other up. And even now on Zoom, when we are in our homes, we have connected spaces, and a common experience.

        It is difficult to keep a positive attitude with chaos raining down upon us every day. What keeps me going is, as usual, dance.

        I confess that I am a news junkie. But I am also a harmony junkie. Those two addictions do not mix. I am certain that rage and outrage every day cannot be good for my health: physical, mental, or spiritual. So I stopped watching the news. Okay, I didn’t completely stop. I skim headlines –somehow the news is (a tiny bit) easier to take if it’s not in audio/visual form. At least I am in control of how fast or in-depth the news enters my consciousness. 

        There are things I know I can do. I call Washington. I sign petitions. I donate (a little) money. I write letters to voters. (I really don’t trust myself to speak). In a letter, I can keep my equanimity and I feel like I am doing something.

        Also, I can dance.

        My despair helps no one. And believe me, I have felt despair and doom in the past months. But I do believe:

-        We are all One. In seventh grade science, we learned that the universe is made of atoms. Atoms are 99.9% energy. We (and everything) are made of this energy, configured in different patterns, but still the same.

 

-        Energy is everywhere. There is no place where it is not.

 

-        Our thoughts, feelings, and actions move energy. What we think, do, and say matters.

 

   Entrainment is real. When we are around people who are showing a loving heart, kindness, generosity, and cheerfulness, we can jump on that train. We can let the love, kindness, generosity, and joy within us come to the surface. When we dance together, we participate in one another’s joy.

 

   So there is another thing I can do. I can look at what’s good. I can put fear and worry aside. I don’t have to bury my head in the sand, but I can choose to expect the best outcomes, because I believe in the inherent goodness residing in all of us. When I come from my heart, it is felt by all. When two or more of us come from the heart, the impact is exponential. If more of us do it, we can change the world.

 

   We can dance onto the entrainment train. We can rise up to be our best selves. And bring others with us.

 

   Oh, and we can always dance.