The Actual Dance as a play presents the events of the year 2000 from my point of view as the spouse of the woman going through breast cancer. Now, seventeen years later, it is apparent that I did not fully understand how deeply the experience impacted me. It took me 12 years to write the story, so to speak, and the last nearly 5 years I have been telling it through performances of the play. Every October I blog daily to help in raising awareness and to share elements of the story that I hope are of value to those who read these blogs. (All quoted lines are text from the play.)
Day 20: The Ballroom. “All of a sudden I am standing the center of a grand ballroom. I am not quite sure where I am in relation to everything else that is here. At first, I think it is a nightmare, but I am not asleep. A daydream? It sits empty I am the only one here.”
Yesterday I wrote about the ritual of The Actual Dance. Today I want to talk about the actual place that the ritual itself takes place. The Ballroom.
I can even today remember The Ballroom, it’s look, it’s size, it’s smell, it’s temperature. A place with “very, very high ceilings, a large highly polished blond dance floor and brilliant spotlights. There is a platform off to the side that is large enough for a good-sized orchestra of 40 or 50 or more musicians.”
The Ballroom was the place where I was going to be with Susan and dance our favorite dance (a waltz) to our favorite song (Unchained Melody) as she would take her final breath and simply transition to a tuft of life force transitioning to the universe.
I like to think of it sometimes as that “place within us and around us where angels sing on rays of light and love pours forth from the heart of the universe.” (Heart of the Universe, Snatam Kaur and Peter Kater)
I would retreat to The Ballroom at seemingly random times. It wasn’t always when things were dire. Sometimes, it just sat there “empty, silent almost in black and white, hollow.” Because “it was waiting, waiting for Susan, Susan and me to walk out onto the dance floor.”
Stat of the Day: New data stats say that about 2,470 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men in 2017. A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000.
Task of the Day: Check out Yoga and similar spiritual practices. My Ballroom seems unique to me, but came I have to think from source within. I knew my mother in her youth had been a dancer. Explore today the things in your life that give you peace and joy and wonder. You may need them later.
Resource of the Day: You can make your own breast cancer “badge” for Facebook or other on-line communities with this resource provided by the CDC.
The Actual Dance: Performances. Donate.
Day 20: The Ballroom. “All of a sudden I am standing the center of a grand ballroom. I am not quite sure where I am in relation to everything else that is here. At first, I think it is a nightmare, but I am not asleep. A daydream? It sits empty I am the only one here.”
Yesterday I wrote about the ritual of The Actual Dance. Today I want to talk about the actual place that the ritual itself takes place. The Ballroom.
I can even today remember The Ballroom, it’s look, it’s size, it’s smell, it’s temperature. A place with “very, very high ceilings, a large highly polished blond dance floor and brilliant spotlights. There is a platform off to the side that is large enough for a good-sized orchestra of 40 or 50 or more musicians.”
The Ballroom was the place where I was going to be with Susan and dance our favorite dance (a waltz) to our favorite song (Unchained Melody) as she would take her final breath and simply transition to a tuft of life force transitioning to the universe.
I like to think of it sometimes as that “place within us and around us where angels sing on rays of light and love pours forth from the heart of the universe.” (Heart of the Universe, Snatam Kaur and Peter Kater)
I would retreat to The Ballroom at seemingly random times. It wasn’t always when things were dire. Sometimes, it just sat there “empty, silent almost in black and white, hollow.” Because “it was waiting, waiting for Susan, Susan and me to walk out onto the dance floor.”
Stat of the Day: New data stats say that about 2,470 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men in 2017. A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000.
Task of the Day: Check out Yoga and similar spiritual practices. My Ballroom seems unique to me, but came I have to think from source within. I knew my mother in her youth had been a dancer. Explore today the things in your life that give you peace and joy and wonder. You may need them later.
Resource of the Day: You can make your own breast cancer “badge” for Facebook or other on-line communities with this resource provided by the CDC.
The Actual Dance: Performances. Donate.
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