Thinkin' Thursday - Commonality

The Waltz - I admit, there are times I watch Dancing With the Stars. Not very often, but it happens. Sometimes I turn it on for background noise. But, no matter what I'm doing, if the waltz is performed, I am mesmerized. My eyes create their own super glue, my body slides in my chair. The waltz is graceful - the lines, the footwork, the story. I love it all. One of my favorite paintings is 'Dance Me to the End of Love.' The promise.

Gymnastics - Several of my daughter's childhood memories involve Olympic Gymnasts. I don't wave patriotic; although I certainly root for the American team. And, when they hit the podium, I cry. They sing the anthem - I cry. They hug their coaches - I cry some more. The horse, the balance beam, the uneven parallel bars, the vault, the floor routine. I don't have a stand-out favorite. The discipline, the beauty, the grace; these are the main attractions. I can still recall with fond feeling when Mary Lou Retton won her medals.

Tennis - My best friend in high school played tennis. I sometimes went with her to a neighbor's court to play. A few years later, I played with my little brother sometimes. Baseline to baseline serves, poor ball control, no backhand - these were my hallmarks. But, watching Evert, Navratilova, Agassi, McEnroe & others, I appreciated the symmetry, the volley, the graceful arc of a ball in flight slapped into the front pocket. A beauty all its own.

What do these 3 have in common, aside from the fact that I cannot do any of them? Besides the grace & splendor? Or the passion they inspire?

When I have a crappy writing day; when I'm lost in the drudges of the chicken/egg dilemma; when I doubt myself - these are the things that spring to mind. I can be there; dancing, flipping, volleying. They relax my soul. They calm my heart. They soothe my brain. 

And just like that, I am back on track. That's what happened last night. The quagmire of what comes next resolved itself when I slipped away into my happy place of grace. And, of course, I have all of you wondifferous people zipping your encouragement & warm-fuzzies through the ether. Making my happy place a sunnier spot in my corner of the universe.

Where is your happy place? How does it get you back in the ring?

Happy Writing,

Patti