On with the Dance!

"On with the dance! let joy be unconfined..."

- Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage



This one is for all of us currently dealing with the soggy weather, the flooding, and even worse storms like tornadoes over the last few days.  

If anyone can make us feel better about truly nasty weather, it's Gene Kelly. Hollywood lore has it that Mr. Kelly was truly sick and running a high fever when this scene was filmed (hence, the added reference at the beginning of this scene). And yet, there he is having the time of his life, jumping in puddles, kicking up water, and singing and dancing...in the rain. I want that passion.

I pray that we can all find a tiny bit of this spirit within us as we assist our communities in recovering from these weather woes.

I heard from so many people yesterday responding to my post on "The Dance" (not just here on Smiling Heart, but on facebook and email, too) that had connected with the idea of dancing that I decided to spend more time on the subject.

When I thought a bit more about the subject, I wanted to touch on the idea of finding passion in our 'dance'.  If we are to agree that we all dance (in a purely literal sense, I think it is innately born in us...even babies dance, with or without music), and the earth dances to its own rhythm, and the universe itself dances; expanding,contracting, arching and spinning, then should we not honor this miraculous dance with our passion?

We know passion when we see it...it's in a performer who connects to something within himself/herself to convey more than mere words or melodies or steps or songs,

...a photographer who captures more than the mere light and shadow of a subject,

...a teacher who refuses to give up on a difficult student,

...a mechanic who treats a car with the care and respect of a doctor tending a patient,

...a first responder who runs into the building everyone else is running from,

...an elite athlete who gives up a good portion of a 'normal' childhood in order to train,

...or the coach or trainer who inspires and teaches that athlete (or John/Jane Doe) to attain his/her goals,

...a writer who endures solitude, writer's block, criticism, and rejection in order to share his ideas,

...a mother who changes the course of her own life to help her child,

...a scientist who dedicates years of her life to researching one tiny organism,

...or a seamstress who spends hours making the inside of a garment as perfect as the outer garment itself, though no one but the person wearing it will see it,

I could go on and on. It seems lots of my own friends are filled with the passion of their own life's dance. (Did you recognize yourselves? You know who you are.) Have they been blessed with this passion? Have they chosen to create that passion? I wonder if there is a difference between the two.

As the noted American author, educator, and civil rights leader, Howard Thurman, wrote, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

That's just another way  of saying we need people who dance with passion, right?


Today, I hope you find the passion in your dance...and then share it with others! 


No one will ever accuse soprano Anna Netrebko of lacking passion. In this aria by Franz Lehár, "Meine Lippen sie küssen so heiß" (My Lips Kiss with Such Fire), she brings the audience to a frenzy with her obvious passion. In a most literal way, it carries her to another dimension, and she becomes Giuditta. Lord Byron himself would be thrilled...her joy is unconfined. 

This production is part of BBC's Proms series from 2007. Whether you are an opera star or a country music fan, a man or a woman, young or old, this performance will wow you. Enjoy!

Sacred Presence

"If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give."
- George MacDonald

Today I cannot help but think of a friend who has been like a sister to me for most of my adult life. We've raised our children side by side, and together we've laughed a million laughs and cried a million tears by now.

She is in pain today, and I am reminded of the sacred gift of her presence in my life, and mine in hers, when we've needed it.  She has cast many loving thoughts into my heart, and today, I wish to give her a gift "as the angels give."

You are loved, sister/friend. You have more friends than you can count. May you feel each one cast a loving thought into your gentle heart today, and bring you peace.


Weeping? And why? And why?
Ah, 'tis faith you are lacking
Hear me
One fine day we'll notice
A thread of smoke arising on the sea
In the far horizon
And then the ship appearing
Then the trim white vessel
Glides into the harbour
Thunders forth her cannon
See you? Now he is coming
- Exerpt, "One Fine Day"
from Madame Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini



This is the beautiful Renée Fleming singing the aria, "One Fine Day" from Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" as part of the "Power Opera" series.

The Art of Listening

"Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast."
- William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Flaming June, Lord Frederic Leighton, Oil on canvas, 1895
Ponce Museum of Art, Peurto Rico

Last night another round of thunderstorms rolled through Weldon Spring. They were not frightening, as the ones that rolled through Oklahoma yesterday had been. They were comforting.

Distant flashes of light and soft rumbles filled the quiet night air. The rain tip-tip-tipped steadily, and Brother Wind swayed the trees quite gently. My window was cracked and the cool breeze crept in, but I was wrapped in the comforting warmth of loving arms throughout the night.

Morning came amidst the dark cold rain, the sun deeply subdued and barely perceptible. The birds must know that the rain will continue all day, and are filling the morning with song. Brother Wind is still passing through the scene outside my window, creating the most pleasing rocking motion through the trees. Even he (who enjoys taunting me at times) seems to offer comfort, saying, "The week ahead will be difficult. You will need strength. We've created this gift for you...take it and rest."

I'm trying to listen more carefully these days. It's an art...one that I hope to improve.

The week ahead includes a memorial celebration for my mother, and will be very special, yet difficult, I'm sure. Today I have no work that can't wait until afternoon. I have darkness, and light rain, and breezy cool inside and out. I have this been offered this gift, and I am listening...

I think I will accept it. I'm going back to bed.

Today I wish you the pleasure of nature's gifts and the ability to listen.

Music today is the familiar and beautiful "Méditation from Thaïs" by Jules Massenet. ["Thaïs" is a beautiful opera, but one of great difficulty, and as such, is not part of the standard repertoire of many opera companies. "Méditation" is actually not a part of the opera per se, but is an entr'acte, played between the scenes of Act II.]

The legendary violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter performs with pianist Lambert Orkis in this 2008 recital. Let the music wash over you as you listen.

What do you hear? Longing? Sorrow? Strength? Peace? Only you can say what the message truly is for you...just remember how important it is to listen carefully. Please enjoy.