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filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″]http://consciousdancer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Monday-Loves-to-your-Pace-and-Presence-min.jpg[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_separator style_type=”shadow” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” sep_color=”” top_margin=”30″ bottom_margin=”30″ border_size=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”center” /][fusion_title title_type=”text” marquee_direction=”left” marquee_speed=”15000″ rotation_effect=”bounceIn” display_time=”1200″ highlight_effect=”circle” loop_animation=”off” highlight_width=”9″ highlight_top_margin=”0″ before_text=”” rotation_text=”” highlight_text=”” after_text=”” title_link=”off” link_url=”” link_target=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” 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“ If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
[/fusion_title][fusion_title title_type=”text” marquee_direction=”left” marquee_speed=”15000″ rotation_effect=”bounceIn” display_time=”1200″ highlight_effect=”circle” loop_animation=”off” highlight_width=”9″ highlight_top_margin=”0″ before_text=”” rotation_text=”” highlight_text=”” after_text=”” title_link=”off” link_url=”” link_target=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” content_align_medium=”” content_align_small=”” content_align=”left” size=”1″ animated_font_size=”” fusion_font_family_title_font=”Montserrat” fusion_font_variant_title_font=”700″ font_size=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_transform=”” text_color=”” hue=”” saturation=”” lightness=”” alpha=”” animated_text_color=”” text_shadow=”no” text_shadow_vertical=”” text_shadow_horizontal=”” text_shadow_blur=”0″ text_shadow_color=”” text_stroke=”no” text_stroke_size=”1″ text_stroke_color=”” text_overflow=”none” margin_top_medium=”” margin_right_medium=”” margin_bottom_medium=”” margin_left_medium=”” margin_top_small=”” margin_right_small=”” margin_bottom_small=”” margin_left_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” margin_top_mobile=”” margin_bottom_mobile=”” gradient_font=”no” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ highlight_color=”” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” link_color=”” link_hover_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_color=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_delay=”0″ animation_offset=””] ~ Henry David Thoreau[/fusion_title][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hue=”” saturation=”” lightness=”” alpha=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” font_size=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_transform=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_color=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_delay=”0″ animation_offset=”” logics=””]
Do you ever feel like you’re trying to carry 6 pounds of oranges in a 5 pound bag? Or you have no problem keeping three balls in the air, but your juggling skills fall apart when you try to manage five?
December is the month when almost everyone’s to-do list starts to fall off the bottom of the page. There’s no getting around all of the end-of-the-year catching up you have to do, to say nothing of put-off projects and the social calendar. The trick to maintaining your sanity is to keep it steady while picking up the pace. And above all – don’t panic!
I had an interesting conversation yesterday with a student at The Crucible. We were there at the Gifty open house, and she asked me a question about using a fire extinguisher on burning oil. We looked at the labels on a nearby extinguisher, and determine that, yes, it’s OK to use an ABC rated fire extinguisher on an oil fire, although smothering it first with sand might even be preferable if that’s an option. Try putting out an oil fire by spraying water on it? Then you’ve got real trouble.
But I found myself sharing some anecdotes and advice, which, upon further reflection, applies to the fast-paced dance of the holiday season. I told her the story about a student who was cutting steel with an oxyacetylene torch that caught on fire.
It wasn’t my student or my class, I just happened to be working nearby. I heard some yelling and commotion and saw that they had thrown the burning torch on the ground and ran away. In other words, they panicked and freaked out.
Fortunately, I was nearby, and calmly walked over and shut the valve on the tank, stopping the fire on the torch immediately. Which is the point I was making to the student about dealing with fires in the first place. Why this student wasn’t instructed in the proper safety procedures in the first place is an open question.
Fires, or crazy situations, usually start small, and if you don’t panic and simply take appropriate action, they can usually be dealt with quite easily. It’s the same with the dance of holiday madness. Just be methodical and handle one thing at a time, and everything will fall into place.
So have fun keeping the home fires burning this holiday season, and keep a steady pace so you’re not blindsided and tempted to panic. It’s always easier to extinguish a blaze when it is a little more than a spark, keeping your wits about you and staying present in the moment is the key.
May your season be sublime, much love till next Monday!
M+
Mark Metz
Director of the Dance First Association
Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine
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