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A Partner in the Dance of Life

This past Sunday, when browsing in one of my favorite poetry collections, I find this excerpt (see below) from an essay called “Our Passion for Justice “ by Carter Heyward. Despite knowing the book’s different writings quite well, today these words strike a clear and beautiful bell. I read them to my students in Monday’s T’ai Chi group session on zoom; our theme this month is Inhabiting Heart Space. With the many heart-wrenching tragedies going on in the world right now, the sentences and their tone resonate.

“For this reason loving involves commitment. We are not automatic lovers of self, others, world, or God. Love does not just happen. We are not love machines, puppets on the strings of a deity called ‘love.’ Love is a choice—not simply, or necessarily, a rational choice, but rather a willingness to be present to others without pretense of guile. Love is a conversion to humanity—a willingness to participate with others in the healing of a broken world and broken lives. Love is the choice to experience life as a member of the human family, a partner in the dance of life, rather than as an alien in the world or as a deity above the world, aloof and apart from human flesh.“

A partner in the dance of life.... Which part, which words resonate with you?




Comments

  1. Alex KAugust 20, 2021 at 7:16 PM

    What a beautiful quote. What jumps out for me is "loving involves commitment..." In these words I see the truth that I have been slowly coming to understand: that love inherently includes responsibility and that the responsibility feeds and grows the love.

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