Pirouettes and Wonder

Last night I took my daughter to see 'The Nutcracker' in Bunbury. It was her first ballet experience after starting ballet herself this year. We had the hour long drive to chat on the way. The excitement in the car was almost tangible. McDonalds was her choice for dinner, but we had to go through the drive thru as we were apparently seriously overdressed to go inside. After picking up the tickets and buying the program we sat in the foyer thumbing through pictures that increased the anticipation more so. The announcement that the doors were opening found us at the front of the line ready to find our seats. 

We were in the third row back and the man sitting next to us joked that we could have ballerinas falling on us if they were not careful. Eventually the lights dimmed and the overture began. It was way too long for my girl. 'When will the curtain go up, Mum?' Soon enough the magic began. I would have paid the money for my ticket just to watch my daughter's face as the dancers came to life; close enough to see the detail of their beautiful costumes and the glow on their skin as they floated across the stage.

The real show, however, was happening on my daughter's face. Wonder and awe were written all over her. Pristine pirouettes, graceful arabesques and stunning pas de deux treated us all evening. I wondered if anyone could ever become bored of such beauty. Was it possible to lose the sense of wonder and awe at the amazing skill and grace of these dancers? My daughter certainly had not lost it and I hope she never will. 

How easy it is for us to become complacent and comfortable with such beauty surrounding us. We take it for granted and lose our sense of wonder. Maybe the answer is to spend a little time introducing the children in our lives to these things of beauty. Watch their faces. Delight in their smiles. Rediscover our own sense of wonder at the beauty in our lives. 

Apocaholics and Seeing Beauty

One of the speakers that I have enjoyed learning from here at the Common Dreams Conference is Bruce Sanguin. Before arriving, I had heard of Sanguin but never read any of his material. During tonight's public lecture he encouraged us with some recommendations for moving into the future. He listed and explained ten different points, but a few of them,for me, were centred around a similar theme.

I learnt a new term during the explanation- apocaholic. This describes a person who is obsessed with what is wrong in the world. They see no goodness or beauty around them, only doom and gloom. They see oppression, injustice, pain and suffering almost exclusively. Sanguin encouraged us to open our eyes to the goodness, the beauty and the love that surrounds us. We need to be aware and ready to see. We need to offer hope and tell the stories of beauty from our own life experience.

I found it very easy to see the beauty in life today. I was fortunate to be able to catch up with an "old" friend from my days in Tonga. We shared lunch together and I got to meet her husband and their six day old baby. Memories of a beautiful country and a people, familiar smiles and the hope and potential bundled into a new born all lifted my heart and warmed my spirit. For a few hours, any despair I may have felt about the situation in Syria, the plight of asylum seekers, the decline of the church or anything else were put aside as I bathed in the goodness of being in the present moment. 

And tonight, on returning to our apartment we watched the last quarter of the AFL preliminary final. This may not seem such a big deal, but I am not a footy person usually. For those of you unaware, the Fremantle Dockers were playing Sydney Swans for a place in the grand final next week. Fremantle won convincingly! But what came next filled me with hope as I watched the beauty and goodness unfold. The crowd erupted, united in support of their team who were to play in their first ever grand final. The players graciously congratulated each other on a good game. And the winning team payed tribute to an opposing player who was retiring from the game. Goodness, beauty and love abounds!

So lets keep our eyes open to the beauty around us lest we become an apocaholic.