The magic of a "dancing giraffe"

Since spring has arrived in Switzerland people seem more energised and upbeat as they enjoy the first warm days and the colourful spring flowers popping up everywhere! 

I love hearing so many stories of "new beginnings" around me. Despite the madness in the world, many people have realised that the change begins with themselves and their own lives. 

I feel so blessed in my peaceful little town. It even has a small cafe with a bookshop, which is cosy and unique.

I have always loved to read books and growing up I lived next door to the public library. 

Maybe that's why I still love children's books, especially those that share such profound wisdom in a very creative and simple way. 

My basement is filled with children's books although I have given away loads. I started reading stories to my son when he was six months old.

He would always tap on the book to tell me he wanted me to read it again. He had inherited the love for books. 

The really special ones I still keep within easy reach. I like to read them from time to time as a reminder. 

One of those books is "Giraffes can't dance" by Giles Andrae and Guy Parker-Rees. It is about being different and finding your own "music and dance" (what you are good at). Let me share the story with you and its beautiful wisdom.

The story is about Gerald the giraffe, who wants nothing more than to dance. However, his thin legs and crooked knees make it difficult for him. 

He gets really upset and disheartened at the annual Jungle Dance.

All the other animals can dance, warthogs waltz, rhinos rock 'n' roll, lions dance a tango and the chimps do a cha-cha.

Only Gerald freezes up and feels useless as the other animals laugh at him and call him clumsy.

On his way home he feels so sad and so alone and meets a cricket who tells him: "But sometimes when you're different You just need a different song."

In the end, the cricket plays the violin and Gerald finds his music and his song. 

As the other animals arrive, they are amazed at his sudden dancing skills. 

Gerald shares with them: "We all can dance when we find music that we love." 

Do you feel you have already found "your song and music you love" and "your unique rhythm" in life or work or are you still looking for it? 

Maybe you feel ready to do something new or different because the music can also change... 

I have undergone different stages and training in dancing. I first just loved simply doing it and it was such joy to dance. Then I started to train for performances. Finally, the training was focused on therapeutic, somatic and "no mind" movement. 

Last year I decided to enrol in "Broadway for beginners". The description invited people to join who just wanted to have some fun. The course was scheduled on Sunday mornings over three months, including two holiday breaks. 

It sounded perfect. The fun part however was missing. It was handled like a professional production where utmost discipline was expected. We were practising for a live stage production, that people would pay to watch. 

I did my best to learn all the steps and songs and also practiced with other participants outside of the course. A week before the public performances I had an accident.

Body, mind and soul stopped me abruptly. It was clear: I was no longer in resonance with being rushed through several dance pieces and songs designed by a choreographer and artistic director. 

There was quantity but not necessarily the required time and space to develop quality. 

Somebody had a vision and I was meant to bring it alive, without having any say in it. 

Just a few weeks before that I had another dance performance. I was completing a two-year-long training program for somatics, creativity and performance. 

The group (25 people) including our two facilitators developed the program together. While there was a certain structure, every rehearsal was different as was the performance. 

It was a co-creative process and there was no artistic director or choreographer. I felt much more at home with that approach. 

There was no rush to "produce" something.

We all have a different rhythm and can adapt to other rhythms for a while, as long as we keep returning to our own rhythm. So we don't lose ourselves in other people's music, songs, visions, ideas or their life/work stage production.

It is always curious how those experiences reflect the changes in my life or give me a nudge, not always a pleasant one, to change, let go, transform and grow. I just don't want to "perform" anymore on somebody else's stage without having any say in it, no matter whose stage it is. A co-creative process is always possible with people who are open to it. 

Whose stage are you performing on? Are you co-creating or being directed?

Coming up next: The magic of setting an intention. So, stay tuned...

Have a magical week!

My weekly blog is now available in German under Blog Deutsch and in Croatian under Blog Hrvatski. 

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