The dance is much larger than we think. Dancing with someone, interacting, dealing with whatever’s going on, there’s the local dance with whoever’s in front of you. And then there are all the others taking part in this huge dance, larger than we can ever think about—the insects buzzing by and circling around, the air, the trees, the people in the next house. It is a huge dance: the size of the dance hall is immense. And way down toward the other end of the dance hall there are other dancers you can’t even see, just as much part of the dance as you are, all doing their part of the dance, synchronized with you and with everyone else, all whirling and turning and weaving on the dance floor.
And the people in the next house are like that. And the people in all the houses everywhere are like that, a huge interactive dance, but all we see are our own steps and the steps of those closest to us. The more in harmony we are in our localized dance, the more the whole entire dance aligns toward greater harmony, but even in discord and conflict and when it seems like the localized dance is totally out of synch, it’s nonetheless an integral part of the larger dance. The larger dance includes the movements and awkwardnesses and missteps of the localized dance. All that is just part of the larger pattern on the dance floor, it just can’t be seen from up close at the local level. But if you could see the whole dance floor, you’d see how it all fits together as part of a larger pattern, a dance that involves and includes everything. Seen from a balcony above the dancers, the larger pattern starts to reveal itself and you can see how everyone on the dance floor is a partner in that pattern.
And real peace is like this, peace way beyond the way we usually understand that word. It is a huge structure, a strength beyond comprehension, like a molecular grid that holds everything within itself, all the movements, all the failings, all that is discord or disaster and all that stands in silence and presence. There is nothing outside of it. There is no way to get outside of it. There is no way to not be included in it, no matter how it feels, no matter what’s going on, no matter what you think about it. The core of our being and this huge structure—a structure that includes all the galaxies and stars and beyond—are not separate from each other. They are each other, somehow interwoven such that the peace of the inmost core of your being, the peace that is your wholeness, is not other than the structure of the peace that holds the whole universe. This can’t be comprehended with the mind, any more than we can see the dancers at the other end of the dance hall, but it can be felt and known at a far deeper level. And that feeling, that inner knowing, can flow into our understanding and transform every aspect of our lives.
© 2022 Shanti Natania Grace
