And those who were seen dancing were thought insane by those who could not hear the music.
– Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher
I have always loved this phrase very much. It applies in so many ways to so many people who have chosen the path less trodden by the brave souls, the ones who dare rush in where angels fear to tread, the dreamers, the ‘crazy’ indomitable souls. The majority who don’t hear the music will call them insane until these pioneers have made their vision a reality and then the music becomes audible for those who could not hear it before.
My life has always been about dancing. Dancing alone, dancing in a crowd, dancing to the beat of my own drums that play in my head, dancing when dancing is forbidden … Dancing makes me happy. When I dance, nothing and no one else matters. No rules apply. I feel the rhythm, I feel it stir a response within my soul and my body takes over and I go with the flow.
It’s probably the most primal of all actions – resonating with the frequency and vibrations of the music we hear and becoming one with it. When we dance, we forget the constrictions of life as we are told to live it and rules we are supposed to follow. We throw them all away and become one with the universe, embracing who and what we really are.
We are reminded of an exhilarating freedom we seem to no longer have but which is our birthright. So the fearless ones seek that perpetual dance, the endless moving to the multiple beats and rhythms inside our hearts and heads. They refuse to be contained in a box, they rebel and they dance. Seemingly insane by those who just cannot fathom that free-spiritedness.
These are the dancers who chartered new territories in lands never explored before. The ones who start businesses never thought of before. The dreamers who dared question the status quo and asked why we can’t change the system. Who dared to see beyond the social constructs of unkind and cruel systems and structure a new world based on kindness and compassion. The rebels and ‘pariahs’ who always ask ‘why?’ and ‘why not?’ and annoy the authoritative figures of the given era.
The ones whose spirits never give up. Who keep that last inch of integrity within them and go against the tide and say ‘it does not matter if a million repeat narratives spoon-fed to them, I shall call it as what it is’.
And who are these people? They are not your PhD folks, the higher the education they get, the more they cannot see beyond the little scope of what they have studied for. They are not the leaders of the biggest corporations or the politicians at the highest levels – they have too much allegiance to the privilege and status quo that put them there, and too afraid to change the system that keeps them there.
The dancers are everywhere else, in various levels of life, quiet and unassuming, poets, deejays, students, the carpenter, the musician, the 9 to 6 worker, the housewife, the kid in the playground … The average joe who has escaped the indoctrination of a system that breaks us down to not question and just follow.
These are the creators of a brand new world, the dancers whose feet will find the path of unbridled passion and joy in doing whatever has been destined for them, allowing the universe to determine their future, trusting in their instinct and the feel within their heart.
The Persian mystic and poet, Rumi said it best “You are what you seek”. But you will only know what you seek, if you stop the noise and rush of your life, the endless chatter and voices of people around you for a bit and listen to what your heart tells you. Listen, believe it and then go after what it tells you fearlessly.
The moment you become fearless, life becomes limitless. This is when you are at your creative best.
Never bother about what others think or have to say. You are the lead dancer in your life, it’s your music that you dance to. They either fold in to your dance steps and dance with you, or they can stay by the sidelines and watch until they hear the faint stirrings of the music and step into rhythm with you.
The rest will remain watching and shaking their heads and calling you mad. Pity them, for they were not made to hear the music. They never will. But you, you dance on, dance on, my wild child. Dance and from all over the world, your tribe will hear your footsteps and chime in and dance with you. And your music shall live on forever.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune. Feedback can reach the writer at beatrice@ibrasiagroup.com
