Zelda Mae Dance

    I have noticed a lot of working through going on right now.  Storm and earthquake recovery and repair goes on all around us – structures damaged by shaking and wind, water damage, canceled events, not to mention unscrupulous insurance providers.  Money concerns continue to press us, and organizations face cutbacks and closures.  As usual, I won’t even mention the shenanigans going on in Congress, except to wonder if a tree has to fall on their houses in order for them to cut the crap and get to governing.
    I was driving down the road the other night on the way to a meeting about a legal dispute when the song, “Shake Your Groove Thing,” came on the Ipod.  I had a fairly intense visceral impulse to jump out of the car and dance.  I could feel how good it would feel, in my body, to shake my, well, you know.  Of course, I didn’t.  The first thought I had after that was, “You’ve got to go to this meeting.” Of course, I did, but the experience stayed with me.  I remembered it several times through the evening and wondered what it meant. 
    I realize now that part of me really wants to cut loose and have some fun.  Yet, another part of me wonders if it’s ok to stop thinking (and let’s face it worrying) about the issues at hand long enough to have fun.  Of course, as soon as the words come fully to the surface of the consciousness, the answer seems obvious.  Clearly, dealing with serious matters in no way requires us to surrender joy.  In fact, I would suggest quite the opposite.  Emotional resilience comes from balancing the serious with the less so.  My logical mind knows this quite well, and yet, I notice at times an unconscious impulse to pull myself back.  I am working with it.  Like most feelings, observing moves it, and right now, I am looking forward to a weekend of family and friends and a wedding that I am performing for two of my beloveds.
    I knew a woman once who gave herself the name Rose May Dance when she reached midlife.  I always liked it, and I get it now like never before.  So may I re-introduce myself?  Today, call me Zelda Mae Dance, and of course, you already know Peaches and Herb.