When I am me, I am free

Stunning Irish photographer Meticulous Mick and I have come together to provide this little number for you.

I first heard of his collaborative spirit when my lovely blogger pal Sheila Hurst teamed up with MM to create Pavement and Paint.

It’s not hard to be inspired by his ridiculously beautiful photos, so he sent me a couple of photos to work with. While they were both absolutely breathtaking, I found “Faded Colour” irresistible.

I thought of this boat as a breathing person, a woman neither young nor old, with doubts and desires. My mind went into a frenzy and I scribbled for a few minutes to create this random something.

I’m not a poet, so call it what you like.

Be sure to get your butt over to Meticulous Mick’s collaborations page if you want to team up.

Faded Colour by Meticulous Mick (aka John Grant)
Faded Colour by Meticulous Mick (aka John Grant)

WHEN I AM ME, I AM FREE

I could be smooth and new like them

Gliding along the sea in some infinite breeze

Without feelings, without pain

Like porcelain dolls never fazed by the rain

But, I am me

Weathered, chipped, and a little faded

I’m not expensive or high-maintenance

I’m a bargain with my colorful simplicity

Because I have traveled

Across the vastness of life

I remain lovely and bright

Sailing through the dark and the light

My generosity has carried so many souls

And they have guided me in the right direction

I have known life in all of its exquisite ways

Beneath me in the water, above me in the sky, inside of my earthly body

All of it made me real and alive

They made me beautiful

These journeys across the endless sea

When I am me, I am free

Dancers: Quirkier than you think

Playing the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, my solitary duty was to entice the audience, whisking them out of the daily grind and into an ethereal world—graceful, beautiful, and effortless.

No stress, no blunders. Everything was simple and perfect.

And, here’s what the audience didn’t know…I couldn’t see anything!

Typically, it snows at the end of the “Waltz of the Snowflakes”. And, even though the stage is merely littered with bits of scrap paper, the cheap thrill is bizarrely breathtaking.

But the dancers have a different view altogether. Simply put, it’s a hazard.

During every performance I was blind, courtesy of snowflakes caught in my fake eyelashes. Every time I leaped off into the wings, I blew snow out of my mouth. It was comparable to dancing on an obstacle course, pointe shoes slipping and sliding on the messy floor like there was no tomorrow.

As a result, I muttered many choice words through gritted teeth.

Yet, the audience didn’t notice a thing, and exited the theater with dreamy expressions, Tchaikovsky and tutus forever embedded in their minds.

I fulfilled my duty as a performer. Sure it was dangerous and challenging, but I  cherished every last second.

Dancers are athletes, who know how to act. They make the impossible, attractively possible.

I often forget how enthralling the dancer species truly is, because I have always been one. So, I took a moment to step out of my dancing shoes to analyze quirky characteristics of the dancer, and share a few crazy things you may not know.

  • They’re shy  You probably don’t believe me, but I’m guilty as charged. I can dance for thousands, but I loathe speaking in front of people. I believe this is where the snobby misconception comes into play, others mistaking bashfulness for conceit.
  • Their posture is baffling  Due to my good posture, I almost failed my driving test when I was younger. The DMV tester guy made me pull over and instructed me to take deep breaths; he warned that he was about to fail me for being too tense, because of the way I was sitting. Uncomfortably, I slouched in order to pass.
  • They avoid pedicures  Dancers are hard on their feet, and probably need pedicures more than the average Joe. But, they don’t want to lose their calluses, which act as an important shield against bare floors and pointe shoes.
  • They create in teeny-tiny spaces  That masterful artistry you see on the stage was probably created in somebody’s shoebox apartment. Dancers don’t usually have the luxury of studio space, and make miracles happen in absurd amounts of square footage.
  • They’re always rehearsing  A dancer needs to remember and master, so they run through choreography constantly. They dance at work, the dinner table, the grocery store—you name it! Last week, I was dancing at the dentist.
  • They don’t know how to stop dancing  I’m not allowed to play sports, because I’m a distraction. Why? Because I point my toes when I sprint, I perform a high kick with the soccer ball, I pirouette to dodge something, and I do split leaps over the other players.

Dancers are some of the hardest working artists out there, juggling day jobs, rehearsal schedules, and teaching gigs.

They get paid the least and have the shortest careers, but dancers sacrifice for the greatest reason of all…they love what they do.