Thursday, May 27, 2010

Wind, Sand and Dance




A little spontaneous magic appeared before me on the beach. This sweet couple just dropped their things in the sand and started dancing...their music of choice, surf and wind...their love for each other was unmistakable.

When you stumble upon moments such as these, when you don't see them coming, and they just quietly present themselves to you, how can you not feel that the beauty in this world is absolutely everywhere, and hopelessly uncontainable? Life is SO BEAUTIFUL.

I can't help but think about my brother when I watch this movie. As an artist, he is always seeking new ways to explore the world around him. He is in the midst of a creative project. He has decided to fall into silence for an unknown period of time and learn to communicate with the people around him in different ways....deeper ways...connecting without the distraction of language. It must be challenging. And he is no doubt learning a great deal about himself in the process.

And even though I am not in silence myself, I find myself noticing how much more there is to connecting that goes so much deeper than simply conversing through words. I watched these two dancing and not only did I get a sense of how they felt for each other, just by the way they were moving with each other...but I could also feel myself connecting to them as I shared this fleeting moment with them on the beach. And if it were possible to actually see connection in a tangible way, I believe I would have seen strings joining this couple to everyone that surrounded them on the beach that day.

How many people strolling the beach paused to watch their graceful twirls? How many smiled and felt a wave of love pass through them? Am I the only one that passed this story along? Who else on the beach was moved by this beauty and felt a subtle rush of seeing something extraordinary?

What a wonderful feeling... to be a part of something... a connection among a beach of strangers.
Not one word spoken. And through this experience I gain some understanding about my brother and why he feels the need to find meaning in the silence. There are as many ways to connect as there are drops in that magnificent ocean...language is only one of them.

18 comments:

  1. Oh, Jaime. I don't even know what to say to this. You are teaching me again. You know, I have been drawn to silence lately. And, really, I am such a chatterbox that it is quite notable. I think I just need a day of silence to renew from the hectic school year just passed.

    Anyway.

    That video. Thank you. Oh, thank you for sharing it. For letting me become a part of your moment, of their moment. Thank you.

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  2. So beautiful...thank you for sharing this gift Jaime.

    Blessings.

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  3. oh jaime....
    this was wonderful.....and all of us seeing the world differently is wonderful, too.....

    i love that this gave you an insight to your brother....i think we all need some insights to those we love.

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  4. “Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.” said Emerson. Silence, does not always mean being silent (ie: not speaking), but it means looking inwards spiritually. A few hours of meditative silence every day really helps - I've just begun it. Lovely capture of the magic, Jamie.

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  5. I welled up reading this.

    Love to my friend, my blood, my partner in crime, my inspiration, my connection to my past, my love...


    my sister.

    *kisses*

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  6. Welcome back my dearest Jaime! I've been missing you. Hope all is well!

    Oh indeed the rain is starting to soak to my bones. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so cold. It has been hovering around 1 degree Celsius this morning. Can you imagine? sigh....

    Glad to see someone was enjoying a lovely day on the beach! :)

    xo Catherine

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  7. That was nothing short of magical Jaime. I forget to be spontaneous way too often, but your post is a perfect reminder~ xxVicki

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  8. How beautiful. Thank you for sharing it here.

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  9. Love it so much! I want to dance on the beach and speak in new ways. Beautiful!

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  10. The image of these two dancing..coming alive..feeling the sand and the sea and the love - is beautiful!! Can't imagine how wonderful it must have been to have been there..to have caught the moment and get swept away. Thank-you for this!!

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  11. So beautiful, and I am grateful you shared it. I saw something like this once, wandering through downtown Spokane one evening. My poetry professor had sent the class out to find something to write about. I wrote about pigeons nesting in an abandoned building and candlelit table in an empty restaurant. And then an elderly couple walked out of the restaurant, the man helped his wife into her sweater, then turned her through a few graceful steps beneath the streetlamp, making poetry so much more beautiful than anything I could write.

    By the way, I just noticed that I'm on your blogroll. Thank you so much--I am pleasantly surprised and feel honored! =)

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  12. That was so magical. Thank you for sharing it - and letting it touch us as well. I can imagine what it would be like to be there for the moment itself.

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  13. First, Jaime, I have to tell you that been thinking about you since you left all those amazing comments over at my place. You are such a treasure that I wanted to find just the "right" words to say to you before I came over here to visit your blog. Then I arrive, and you are talking so beautifully about silence!

    I am intrigued and inspired by your brother's silent project. Have you ever watched the film "Into Great Silence"? It has almost no words and it's a documentary about an order of monks in France who have taken a vow of silence. I absolutely LOVE this film. Everything else takes on new layers and textures when one is quiet.

    Oh, and I love this video that you've shared with us! Thank you, my friend, for inspiring and, as always, making me think. Sending you all best wishes!

    xoxo Gigi

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  14. I am reminded of the quote Jaime...
    "God respects us when we work, but loves it when we dance"...
    I don't know where that quote is from, but I really enjoyed what you captured.

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  15. You know, of course, how wonderful you are to me? How great you made me feel? Thank you for spending so much time by my fire. Thank you for all your loving words. Thank you for your friendship. I love you.

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  16. and the dance... it's as though i could have watched forever.
    xo

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  17. this is beautiful, and i can't help but wonder how priceless this would be to them, too. i hope they by happenstance find their way here....
    ... and now you've shared this moment of beauty with us, too, to share it with them... :)

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