Friday, August 27, 2021
Toward Freedom XXXV
On the Exploration of Rabbit Holes
In December of 2019, a man I barely knew in Second Life asked me to run the music for a dance show. I've never asked him how he pulled my name out of the hat.
The needs of a dance show are different from those of a DJ performance. My only task was to press "Play" at the right time. He liked how I did it, the show went on the road, and I needed to know more. I went to their dance discussion sessions.
What is God's purpose? Start with his first step: a gift. That churches have turned that gift into another excuse for layering on guilt isn't God's fault. What happens to a human being after God's hand deflects self-judgment? What happens in a garden when you stop throwing big rocks?
Hard as it might be to believe, I became a choreographer. Being among dancers and choreographers had nudged open a door I'd forgotten about.
Dance is different from the other things I do. I can stand behind sand sculpture and attention is deflected to the thing outside of me. The same applies to writing, and even reading aloud what I've written. Dance pulls away all the curtains; it is me there, feeling the music and responding. Self-expression, as one friend said.
Is self-expression allowed to a Christian? The churches I'm familiar with will say yes, if you're serving God's will. This most often seems to be what the pastor thinks is God's will. What is God's will if you ask God himself?
I get no judgment from him. Dance on. David, a man after God's own heart, danced.
