People need joy.Quite as much as clothing.
Some of them need it far more.
- Margaret Collier Graham, writer
Dance to Heal the Earth
by Dee Smith
Whenever you dance, wherever you dance, dance to heal the earth!
Dancing is power. Dancing is prayer. Some say that all is dance. Maybe. Now there's a big dance coming, a dance to heal the earth. If you're reading this, you're probably part of it. You take part whenever you do whatever you do to help heal the earth. When you recycle. When you choose to show love, to fight for justice, to bring healing, to bring out what is good in others. When you avoid cruelty and dishonesty and waste. When you are outraged. When you speak out. When you give. When you consider the generations to come.When you protest to the oppressors and encourage those who feel the cutting edge of injustice. And, of course, when you dance. There is a tree that all the prophets see, and whenever you let your love show, you make the flowers grow.
Soon this dance will be done in a big way, in the old way, on sacred ground. All living things will take part. If you want to, you can take part. No one is twisting your arm. You can stop any time you need to, and start up again whenever you're ready. If you've read this far, you probably know what I'm talking about. You've probably been doing it in one way or another for a good while. Soon will be the time to make no bones about it!
Cut loose!Anytime you dance, anywhere, whether at a party or in church, dance to heal the earth! Let your feet beat a healing rhythm into the earth. Let your feet beat a strengthening rhythm for those who struggle the hardest. Let your feet beat a life-giving rhythm for all peoples, regardless of race or national boundary, regardless of whether we're human or whether we're the trees, the air, the fish, the birds, the buffalo, the bear, the crow. We come out of hiding, we come back from the dead, and we dance, and our dance is a prayer, and our songs and our rhythms and our breath give life.
Is the music they're playing some mindless jingle? Never mind, as long as it's not bad music, and you can dance to the beat! Make your own words, and make the words a prayer. A prayer for the end of exploitation, a prayer for the end of lies, a prayer for healing, for justice, for life. Remember your prayer-song, feed it and let it get strong and pass it along. Dance and pray, whenever you dance, dance to heal the earth.
Have you seen anything? Wear it out! Make it so that all can see what you see! Take a white T-shirt and mark it with your dreams. Is there anything you'd like to tell the world? Take your shirt and mark it with your song! This is the way it has been done, so you can do it too. Use any color except black (there are reasons for that that will become clearer later), and you'll probably find that a loose, pure cotton T is most comfortable for dancing in. Cos this is an actual dance, you dance hard, you sing and breathe hard and sweat. Wear it when you plan to go out dancing, to dance to heal the earth.
Some people do this dance while fasting, and dance for several days straight. But even a few minutes of dancing helps, and joins with all the other dancing going on, everywhere on Earth. Not everyone can fast these days. Besides, you never know when you're gonna dance, and you have to eat sometimes! But if you plan to dance, hold off eating till later, or just have a little. It's easier to dance if you don't have a hotdog weighing you down.
Some people say, do not do sacred things where people are drinking and partying. But all the universe is a sacred place. It really doesn't matter what others are doing, you can make a place sacred wherever you are, with your intention and your prayers. Some people use smoke to make a place sacred; a cigarette or incense stick will do fine. You can dance to heal the earth anywhere, even a party or a bar! The earth is everywhere, so you can dance anywhere to heal her. Only one thing. Please hold off drinking or using any other intoxicants till you're done. It works better that way.
The Lie has gone far enough. It spreads and makes everyone sick. Now is the time for this dance to begin. It, too, will spread, and it will bring healing to all. In the beginning, they say, God put a rainbow in the sky, to let us know that Spirit never forgets. Now is the time for us to put a rainbow across the earth, to let God know that we, too, remember.
Dance to heal the earth. Not just when you're dancing, but always. Live the dance, whenever you move, in all you do, dance to heal the earth.
LORD OF THE DANCE
(Sydney Carter) I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced in the moon, the stars and the sun
I danced down from Heaven and I danced on 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
They would not dance; they would not follow me
So I danced for the fisherman, for James and John
They came with me and the dance went on
I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame
They holy people said it was a shame
So they whipped, they stripped, they hung me high
And they left me on the cross to die
I danced on a Friday, when the sky turned black
Its hard to dance with the Devil on your back
Oh they buried my body, they thought I'd gone
But I and the dance still go on
They cut me down, but I lept on high
I am the light that will never, never die
But I'll live in you if you'll live in Me
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he
© Stainer & Bell, Ltd
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances,
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And is anxious in its sleep.
-WB Yeats, The Stolen Child
I Want To Live Before I Die
Dare I to dream that life holds more
Than I have experienced in my life before;
Cast away self-built walls that bar my way;
A shadows existence -- it's own price to pay;
Unbolt invisible locks that hold my soul;
Risk to feel real -- not just play a role;
Shrug away fears that inhibit me now;
Find the courage to really live, somehow.
I want to be all that I can be,
Experience all that's there for me,
I want to soar, I want to fly,
I want to live before I die,
Can I free the child hidden deep in me,
To let her feel, romp and act naturally,
Lose herself in wonder, joy and awe,
By seeing things the way I've never saw;
To allow her to scamper and uninhibitedly play,
To perceive things in a fresh new way;
But mostly to assure her of simply this--
That she's perfect just the way she is!
I want to spin fantasies and fairy tale dreams,
To just be silly, not worry how it seems,
I want to laugh, I want to cry,
I want to live before I die.
Can I reach out in friendship and assuredly know
That acceptance is there, and watch it grow,
And look in the mirror and really see me,
Instead of the person I thought I should be;
Have the courage to open up my heart,
And allow the fear and uncertainity to depart;
To cast this passive nature to the side
And really dare to feel and be alive.
I want to go where I've never been,
And see the things I've never seen,
I want to do, I want to try,
I want to live before I die.
Can I touch someone and they touch me,
Without restraint, glory in the intimacy,
Taste their essence as they taste mine,
Let our minds, souls and bodies intertwine;
Give myself, unristingly, without the fear
That has always kept me from getting near;
To soar in passion, without control,
Yet experience tenderness, and we be whole.
I want to feel what I've never felt,
And feel my control begin to melt,
Feel my body really come alive,
I want to live before I die.
Can I taste life's sweetness and savour the pain
And go back and do it all over again;
Can I learn to live for just a minute in time,
And grasp that moment and make it mine;
Experience what now I can not conceive,
But people are starting to make me believe--
That's there's more out there than I have seen,
And there's more to me than I have been.
I want to know that my life is real
And feel the things I need to feel,
I want to grow, I want to thrive,
I want to live before I die!
By Diana Glen --1997
presented with permission of the author
~~ Brightness of the Lord ~~
Raise your voice to the Lord.
He will dance his shades of colors.
Raise your voice unto the Lord.
You will see the brightness of the Lord.
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
raise your voice to the Lord.
You will see the brightness of the king.
He dances many shades of colors.
He waits behind the clouds in a bubble
to hear his name,
and dance his shades of colors.
You will see brightness of yellow, orange, and red.
You will see a glow of white an angel's presence
is surely there.
Raise your voice unto the Lord.
He will shade your eyes with colors.
Colors of brightness you have never seen.
Colors of the Lord are waiting for you to see.
You will see a light shinning down from heaven
coming directly towards you.
It is the Holy Spirit in his bubble
dancing his many shades of bursting colors.
Raise your voice to the Lord.
He will dance his shades of colors.
For I have seen the brightness of the Lord,
and his, many shades of colors bursting with delight.
Colors my eyes had never seen before
bursting with colors.
The brightness of the Lord
is the most beautiful sight
a rainbow of colors bursting with delight.
© 1998 Patricia Kriegel (All rights reserved)
presented with permission of the author
