Out of the shelf: FREEDOM, ladies & gentlemen!

Image courtesy: Fiora OrientalFusion

 I´m aware of many things about myself - this is the price I pay for focusing on my life and knowing who I am at every second of this blessed life.

 One thing is certain: I´ve always been out of the box. People never knew - no matter where I was - where to locate me: their shelves don´t fit me or I don´t fit their shelves. My words, actions, character were rarely understood (exception made to the moments spent on stage: those were the only moments when I was truly seen and understood).

 Yes: I´m a marginal; an outsider who doesn´t follow fashions, sheeps, crowds, easy paths and "friendly connections that usually compensate for the lack of talent". I´m "heavy duty", as someone once called me.

 On the Road of Life - my Life: an incredible Adventure! - I´ve learnt that most people don´t live: they  survive. The fear of AUTHENTICITY and FREEDOM is enormous and most of us can´t manage to conquer it. It´s rare to see a person who dares to risk, change and grow on a daily basis; someone who´s not afraid of BEING his/her full self, of changing, exploring the talents, dreams, wishes, passions God has given him/her.

 Growing is also accepting other people´s limitations (as well as my own). Don´t push them - pushing yourself is hard enough. Don´t judge them - working on yourself and your fragilities is hard enough. Don´t demand from others - demanding of yourself is hard enough. Don´t presume everyone is born with the same mind, heart, sensibility, way of looking at life, ambitions and weird treats. The world is bigger than our minds can perceive and the variety of creatures who live in it too astonishing for our comprehension.

 I caress the jails I see around me because I know I have my own. In one way or another, we build our own barriers (they are probably what keep us grounded). I´ve learnt to smile at the perspective of being the BLOND ALIEN in the room and I´ve forgiven the ones who judge me without even knowing me. We´re all just human and we´re all just learning (some more than others).



Image courtesy: Katya Faris

 If Oriental Dance has taught me something (and it has taught me SO MUCH!), this is it: authenticity rocks!: being my REAL self and following my bliss (as Joseph Campbell famously said) is The Way: not wasting time or energy with fears or ghosts is the wisest thing I can do: love and fight, when I need to, but keep walking with gratitude and an open heart.

 In a world where we´re pushed to join the crowds, I say: BE YOURSELF, for Life´s sake! Question the rules: dare to think and feel for yourself: put that brain and that heart to good use.

 When we´re older and close to (physical) death, it´ll be so nice to look back without regrets or "what if"; so peaceful to see we´ve been and done everything our heart asked for.

I´ve said it, taught it and done it since forever: you cannot grow in Oriental Dance if you don´t grow as a human being and growth, ladies and gentlemen, is all about FREEDOM and the courage to pay the price for it.

Be brave: be yourself: be aLIVE. 

Image courtesy: Life*