The late Eric Butterworth
once said,
as he sat in a wheelchair,
speaking in a barely audible voice,
“I have no theology,
I dance.”

I was glad to witness
my master teacher’s testimony
while on one of his last retreats
because it was
one of the most powerful things
I have ever heard,
made even more powerful
by someone who had lost a sense of movement in the flesh
but was beyond the
spirit of dance
in the choreography
of his genius.

Thinking of Eric reminds me
to honor the grace of
my own body,
to re-claim it from
the bondage of not moving
as much during
these pandemic days,
and uplift it in
the beauty of its imperfection.

I move through the
treasure of each breath,
and lift from the joy
of each moment.
I treasure the sanctity of
each pause,
each bend,
each tap,
each point.
The surprise that I can
still do
what I no longer
through I could
is a gift.
We can never stop
being better
if we just try.

Fellow Howard Alum Debbie Allen
is moving better than she
ever has before
through hundreds of dreams
breathed through DADA
her dance studio,
now featured
in Netflix’s Hot Chocolate Nutcracker:
the mindfulness
of being one
with our bodies
while leaning into
our dreams.

Caring for ourselves
gives us the opportunity
to re-connect
with our bodies
and love them
for not only being
on point
but also for the trials
and tribulations
they have carried
us through.

Let us love ourselves
where we are
here
in the strength
of the moment,
realizing that
we are the simple
grace of
the movement
of now.

Move in the best
that you are.
Breathe in the moment
that you have.
Tell the truth
that you know.

Put on some music
and move
through the spaces
around you
to celebrate
you
being
who you are.

There is lots of room
outside of our boxes
to stretch in.

Inside of every step,
every bend,
every pause,
every utter,
every hum,
every sigh,
every lift,
there is magic.

Take care of your magic.