Excerpts from “Dancing Through Life,” from the Broadway play Wicked:
But I say: why invite stress in?
Stop studying strife
And learn to live "the unexamined life":
Dancing through life
Skimming the surface
Gliding where turf is smooth
Dancing through life
Swaying and sweeping
And always keeping cool
Life is fraught-less
When you're thoughtless
Those who don't try
Never look foolish
Dancing through life
Mindless and careless
Make sure you're where less
Trouble is rife
If only because dust
Is what we come to:
Nothing matters
But knowing nothing matters
It's just life
So keep dancing through:
And the strange thing:
Your life could end up changing
While you're dancing
Through!
When a song like this strikes even the puniest and most anemic of chords within my soul, I know it’s time for some serious reevaluation and change.
My busy schedule is making it challenging for me to find time for meditation and reflection. More and more often, I settle for merely thinking my thoughts, or for occasionally dialoging with a friend or two, rather than analyzing and organizing my ideas into essays and blog posts. This tendency makes me nervous, for a couple of reasons.
First, I grow intellectually when I write. The discipline of transferring personal ideas into coherent written communication is very good for me, and unless I have an incentive (such as other people reading and commenting), this is a discipline I neglect. I need to be more proactive about my participation in “the great conversation.”
Second, I live more fully when I evaluate my experiences through writing. When I force myself to think like a writer, every experience has the potential to provide me with insights, ideas, and thoughts. When I don’t function in this mindset, I let experiences pass by, rather than grappling with them until they reveal lessons. Writing lets me accost the events in my life. Carpe diem!
So, I’m back to blogging. I’m really excited, too, because I’ve missed the joy of thinking and writing about what is beautiful and important. Rhetorical Response is going to look different this time around. I’m about to graduate high school, and I have no British literature course to guide my writing. Also, I’m juggling travel (frequent trips to
Being busy, though, is what motivates me to blog again. “Skimming the surface” is all too frightening a possibility, and I think, and hope, and pray Rhetorical Response will help me evade the trap.
Besides all that, God speaks to me when I write and when I read the thoughts of others. It’s so much fun to encourage and be encouraged by likeminded writers and thinkers. Discussion in the blogosphere is a joy, and I can’t wait to take part in it again.
Here’s to the examined life.
18 comments:
Huzzah! Can't wait to read your thoughtful posts again!
We're thrilled to have you back on the blogosphere, Karen. You've been missed.
Awesome! Blogging is so much fun and so beneficial. I've attempted in a couple different forms, but I always lose track of it. I hope you are more successful than I have been.
The only requirement is am updated profile picture ;-)
-Nick E.
I agree with Nick... I'm glad for you Karen - truly, I know you'll love this again... just don't stop verbally processing with me every week and I won't be sad :-P
Cheers,
A
It's delightful to know you're returning Karen! I've missed your thoughts these last couple of months :)
Yay! Karen's back! Now, I just need to get back on the ball too. :D
Looking forward to your posts, Karen! I've missed reading you. :-)
I look forward to your deep insights...but I know it will make me miss talking with you so much more. All the same, I can't wait to read more!
Glad to see you're back! I look forward to hearing from your more often in the future. :-)
It's lovely to see you've returned!
*cheers*
HURRAHH!!! Karen, you have no idea how marvelous this is -- I lovelovelovelove reading your thoughts, sifting mine through them, crashing into your mind. It's absolutely invigorating. Secondarily, I feel convicted to actually attempt some level of intelligence in my blog.... *squinches face* I've rather fallen into emotive effusions off the top of my head. ;-)
I love you.
~Hannah V.
(P.S. "Those who don't try /
Never look foolish." That line hit me in the stomach like a wrecking ball. I was like, "He read my mind! That means I'm LIKE that empty-headed fool!" It was scary. And I decided to reform.)
Yay for you being back!
I too can't wait for some thoughtful posts. But I think this post was very thoughtful too.
Intriguing. :)
~Katie
My young friend,
Your words cut straight to my heart. I too am doing my best to get back to blogging regularly and reflectively. It is one of those times where so much change is happening at once, I want to be present throughout the process not carried away by it.
Love,
Mrs. M
Welcome back...drop me a line sometime.
I just happened by as I was writing a bit about the same passage from Wicked. I, too, was amused by the cleverness of the lyrics -- and a bit off put by the sentiment.
Best wishes!
===|==============/ Level Head
It's a radical act to stop and contemplate your life. But according to Socrates, it's the only game that really matters.
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Your words cut straight to my heart. I too am doing my best to get back to blogging regularly and reflectively. It is one of those times where so much change is happening at once, I wan
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