The Dance of Life - Metamorphosis

The art of living is based on rhythm – on give and take, ebb and flow, light and dark, life and death. By acceptance of all aspects of life, good and bad, right and wrong, yours and mine, the static, defensive life, which is what most people are cursed with, is converted into a dance, ‘the dance of life,’ metamorphosis. One can dance to sorrow or to joy; one can even dance abstractly … But the point is that, by the mere act of dancing, the elements which compose it are transformed; the dance is an end in itself, just like life. The acceptance of the situation, any situation, brings about a flow, a rhythmic impulse towards self-expression.

- Henry Miller: The Wisdom of the Heart

 

The Subtle Difference

    After a while you learn the subtle difference

    Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,


    And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning

    And company doesn’t mean security.


    And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts

    And presents aren’t promises,


    And you begin to accept your defeats

    With your head up and your eyes open

    With the grace of a man, not the grief of a child,
    

And you learn to build all your roads on today
    
Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans

    And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
    

After a while you learn…

    That even sunshine burns if you get too much.


    So you plant your garden and decorate your own soul,
    
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
    

And you learn that you really can endure…
    
That you really are strong 

    And you really do have worth… 

    And you learn and learn… 


    With every good-bye you learn…

— You Learn 
— by Jorge Luis Borges