Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Spiritual Journey Thursday: Shall we dance?

 



I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth:
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they wouldn't follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came with me and the dance went on:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame:
The holy people said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high,
And they left me there on a cross to die:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
It's hard to dance with the devil on your back.
They buried my body and they thought I'd gone;
But I am the dance, and I still go on:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

They cut me down and I leapt up high;
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me:
I am the Lord of the dance, said he.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

--Lyrics by Sydney Carter, 1963

May...
Maypole dances
Spring into Summer
pastel to neon Creation
you can almost see 
the flowers blossom
beneath unseen feet
dancing 
under a joyful sun
shaking off the ashes
of darkened days
those feet leaping high
so very, very high
melting into the
blazing sunlight
until you can't
see them anymore.

You let out a whoop,
your heart filled
with love and delight
privileged to play
in the garden of the Creator,
the Lord of the Dance.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we will not be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.
--Elder Joseph Brackett, 1848


SJT writing circle, I hope this music and my humble offering of poetry inspires your own thoughts on "Shall we dance?".

15 comments:

  1. What an incredible invitation! I love it--especially ending with Yo Yo Ma. I have a short and sweet post here: https://awordedgewiselindamitchell.blogspot.com/

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    1. Linda, I thought the juxtaposition of Yo Yo Ma's single cello and Allison Kraus' sweet voice to the beautiful choir and instrumentals was profound in and of itself. Communal dancing, simple movement...it all speaks of joy!

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  2. I love the songs you posted. I have both of them memorized and can sing along. I was dancing last weekend and throwing cares to the wind. Little did I know this was your topic: https://reflectionsontheteche.com/2023/05/04/spiritual-journey-thursday-shall-we-dance/

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  3. Chris, thank you for such a celebratory theme! I have much to celebrate today - it's in the post - but first let me tell you how your selections buoy my spirits even more. I am honestly not much of a dancer, although I am awed by people who are, with such breathtaking, joyful, wondrous grace. Dance is a response to the music of life. One's whole being goes into dancing...and today, I do just that! Thank you again for hosting. My offering: https://litbitsandpieces.com/2023/05/04/today-i-dance-spiritual-journey/

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  4. This was what I needed this morning. The grace of dance. Thank you for your offerings. Here's mine: https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/blog/spiritual-journey-thursday-shall-we-dance

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  5. Thank you for hosting! I wrote about a Henri Nouwen book called Turn My Mourning Into Dancing. The post is here: https://thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com/2023/05/spiritual-journey-thursday-shall-we.html

    I'm looking forward to reading everyone's posts!

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    1. Ruth, for some reason my comments aren't posting on your blog post. But thank you for the book recommendation! I need it right now.

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  6. Chris, thanks for leading us on our journey today. What a wonderful way to greet the month of May. The joy of dancing melds so well with the joy of Spring. The heaviness of winter is gone and we celebrate the arrival of spring. Here is the link to my post https://arjeha.wordpress.com/2023/05/04/joy-of-dancing/ I hope I am not duplicating this comment. It didn't seem to publish the first time.

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  7. Chris, thank you for the post. It was a joy to hear the songs and your sweet poem is so full of life and hope. I've used the word ashes in my poem today. Thank you for the inspiration.

    "under a joyful sun
    shaking off the ashes
    of darkened days"

    https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2023/05/04/shall-we-dance/

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  8. Chris, I read your post early today but then the day became packed that I was not able to get back to your post full of a joyful celebration. I like how you stacked your post with various pieces of joy, song, and dance. As soon as my post is finished, I will let everyone know. Thanks, Chris, for hosting with such an interesting topic.

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    1. https://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2023/05/shall-we-dance-on-spiritual-journey.html

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  9. What joy in the choice of music for this post! And I love your poem, especially the last few words:
    "You let out a whoop,
    your heart filled
    with love and delight
    privileged to play
    in the garden of the Creator,
    the Lord of the Dance."
    Thanks so much for this playful, joyous invitaion.
    I'm sorry to be posting late, but I'm finally here.

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  10. Chris, I loved listening to the music and reflecting on the lyrics. I grew up with Lord of the Dance being sung in our Catholic masses (I was blessed with Jesuits who sought more progressive music). I'm sitting with the line "I am the dance. And it goes on." --noting that it comes in the stanza about Good Friday -- a reminder that in the depths of darkness, hope lives. The dance goes on. I need that right now... I'm facing a very sick 1 yr old dog and trying to find joy and hope. I'm going to try to put a post together - if I can focus my thoughts. If so, I'll circle back to add the link. Thank you for this.

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    1. Here is the link to my post: https://patriciajfranz.com/blog-spiritual-journey-shall-we-dance/

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