Why I Will Always Do What Makes My Soul Happy

What makes your soul happy? Is it seeing your favorite band live, feeling the melody soothe your soul? Maybe it’s going to your happy place, watching the waves crash and seeing the tide rush in and fall away? Is it getting lost in the wilderness? Maybe it’s spending time with the person whose soul matches yours? Or going to a tattoo shop to fill your body with more art? Is it curling up with a good book and letting the characters take you to a new world? Is it at the gym, where you push yourself to your limits until you feel an endorphin rush?

For me, it’s dancing. Dancing is what makes my soul shine. I get to be an artist and an athlete all at the same time. The joy of dancing starts when I find the perfect song, one that embodies what I feel. A song that seems to understand me and make me feel heard. As I put my earphones on, I tune out the world. I start to allow myself to move. To let everything go. I study the music and let my body feel the strum of each instrument. Dance is where I put my emotions into motion, and that’s what inspired this poem.

My feet make music

The rhythm in tune with my body

And my thoughts fit into beats,

Whole notes.

Instead of scattered half-notes

And empty full notes

Waiting to be fulfilled.

Timesteps stomp out

The feelings of wanting to go back in time,

The urge to fix the past

And the fear of the future coming too fast.

Timesteps are in perfect rhythm

So I can’t run behind or jump ahead.

Drop swing as you drop away your angst

Throwing down hate

Throwing away self-doubt

Releasing self-loathing

Letting go of shame

Finding power

Picking up acceptance

And inhaling calmness.

Feeling my body shake off the wrongs

And swing back into the rights.

Dancing always brings you back to center.

Slowly leaning to the side, reaching for peace

Quickly pas de bourree to the opposite side

Suspending your leg in the fresh air                      

Taking a deep breath

And falling back towards the other side

The rocking sensation

Soothes my soul.       

Stop spinning out of control.

And start pirouetting into focus

Spotting the one thing that keeps me intact

For seven seconds the word is blurry

And on the eighth count, I gain control

I see myself coming to a half-count pause

I look at myself in the mirror, just for a second

A glance,

A smile

What’s next?

I’m already counts behind

I hope that the time-step stomps out my worries

And brings me back

To the present

This time, I’ll be on time

for the next movement.      

What makes your soul happy? What helps you let everything go?

Photo by Blake Cheek on Unsplash

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