do you believe in magic?

they looked at her

and said do you believe 

and of course she did

but they wanted proofs

& maps and documents 

measuring the distance 

of such truths

and I all she could offer

was the breath of her kiss

a smile 

that could open a heart 

& her laughter 

that lights up the sky 

I had an interesting conversation with three year olds the other day. They were debating whether magic was real or not. It is always so fun to hear them debate each other, constructing their beliefs, providing proof and or ideas they had gotten from others. Then they looked at me, and of course I believe in magic and so does our magical deer in the story I was telling and every story I have ever done.

Believing in the impossible harnesses creativity and  makes us believe new things can happen, things we never thought of before. Those who believe tend to be such evocative dancers, thinkers, people and/or innovators. I told you once that I read somewhere that imagination in a child looks like hope in an adult, so I always take these conversations seriously. Sometimes we don’t know what the next step is and imagining there will be one is enough to keep stepping through, enough to keep us learning. 

Often people come and say I want to try your class and see your work. They want to know how many calories they will burn, how many steps they will take in the class, how many IG fans do I have, how high will their legs get or what level will they attain. They want logic to tackle something that does not have any. There is no logic in play and that is what makes it so fun. Remember play is the same space we aspire to in meditation as an adult. Of course my work is a workout and physical dance training. However something bigger is going on here. 

A year ago as we were dancing outside against all odds, weather and pandemic, I wondered if I should still be teaching children at all. I wondered if there would even be a studio anymore. I threw out the idea of levels of classes and just moved people with story, movement and community and nature. Somehow our legs went higher, our skills became better than ever and our hearts grew together in the worst of times. The magic that got created outside carried us into this new beginning of Moovment House. 

Here I sit a year later remembering all we have done.  Classes are full of children and adults with smiles longer than numbers.  We had two f u l l house events this past weekend, with the beginnings of building stronger and brighter connections in community and art in Denver. 

In answer to my own question about working with children the answer is always yes, every day.  They keep me hoping and believing anything is possible. 

with love,

Mary Lynn