"Watch the dust grains moving
in the light near the window.
Their dance is our dance.
We rarely hear the inward music,
but we're all dancing to it nevertheless,
directed by the one who teaches us,
the pure joy of the sun,
our music master."
      ~Rumi

I shared these words of the ancient Sufi mystic at our staff meeting yesterday. They are words that really capture my imagination. On these particularly cold winter days, when the sun shines so brightly as it reflects off the snow's whiteness, I have seen those dust particles dancing. I love watching them, knowing that for the most part, they are invisible at other times. Certainly they are floating in the air all the time but are lost to our eyes without the brilliance of the sun's rays. They swirl and dip, they spiral and hover, dancing in the light that makes them visible.

Rumi's words made me wonder about the many dances we do. Sometimes my daily dance seems choreographed to a tee, I know the steps, I execute them with precision and skill. Other days, the music of my life calls only for the jerky improvisation of modern jazz. I move from one step to another, leaping and falling, mostly trying to stay out of the way of myself and others. Still other days I am wearing tap shoes, my shoes moving across the hard floor with each shuffle, ball/chain, dancing as fast as I can to a music that propels me to a big finish for the day, a music that is familiar and brings me great joy.

What are the dances you do? What dance is your life calling you to today? Is it an elegant, gliding ballroom number or a hip-hop dance that leaves you breathless and exhausted? Who are your dance partners or are you doing a solo piece for your own enjoyment? Or yet, is today a day when you are called to be a 'wallflower' and sit this one out, watching, observing,holding the space for the other dancers in your midst?

Whatever the dance you are called to today, may the bright light of the sun make your movements shine for all to see. And may your inward music bring you closer to the music master that teaches us the gift of all our steps, all our days, for all  our time.