I’ve been dancing for years, but I still take classes, because there’s always more to learn.
One of the reasons I love dance so much is how literal it is as a lesson for life and relationships.
The other day in class, the teacher was explaining how the follower should surrender into the arms of the leader, but keep one foot back for stability. That way, if the leader doesn’t know the move or loses balance, the follower still has their own grounding.
What I heard was:
Yes, surrender into the arms of the leader.
But never give up your own stability.
That, to me, is the perfect metaphor for relationships.
You want interdependence, not codependence.
You want to count on your partner as much as they count on you, but also be able to count on yourself.
This shows up in so many places outside of relationships too.
On my first surf lesson, I kept staring at my feet on the surfboard, as if sheer eye contact would keep me upright. My instructor finally yelled, “Look ahead. Where you look is where you’ll go.”
If you’re staring down, you’ll probably fall.
If you look toward the horizon, you’re far more likely to ride the wave.
Damn. If you think about it and take it literally, that lesson is everywhere in life. In relationships. In magic. In work.
Life is constantly serving up metaphors for how to live well, love well, and stay free. Most people just don’t notice.
These pointers—on the dance floor, in the ocean—are what I mean when I say that magic lives in the everyday.
Most people think magic is all ritual, candles, and moon phases. And yes, those things have their place. But the heart of Liberation Magic, and the heart of what I teach at Bruja School, is about training yourself to notice the wisdom that’s already woven into your daily life.
Life is constantly handing you metaphors for how to live, love, and create with more freedom. Most people just don’t notice.
So here’s my question for you:
What metaphor has life been showing you lately?
And are you paying attention?
Photo by Marina Zvada on Unsplash