Our host this month, Chris, has asked us to write about the theme "Shall we dance?" for our May SJT. At that link you can see what others have written on this topic.
Ecclesiastes 3:4 says that there's a time to mourn and a time to dance. A few years ago I read Henri Nouwen's book Turn my Mourning into Dancing: Finding Hope in Hard Times, and I've reread it several times since.
Nouwen writes about how we can learn to dance even in hard times. So often, the time for mourning and the time for dancing go together, both in the same day or even the same hour. Here's some of what Nouwen has to say:
"How can we learn to live this way? Many of us are tempted to think that if we suffer, the only important thing is to be relieved of our pain. We want to flee it at all costs. But when we learn to move through suffering, rather than avoid it, then we greet it differently. We become willing to let it teach us. We even begin to see how God can use it for some larger end. Suffering becomes something other than a nuisance or curse to be evaded at all costs, but a way into deeper fulfillment. Ultimately mourning means facing what wounds us in the presence of One who can heal.
This is not easy, of course. This dance will not usually involve steps that require no effort. We may need to practice. With that in mind, this little book shows five movements of a life grounded in God. These will not make the pain disappear. They will not mean we can expect to avoid shadowed valleys and long nights. But these steps in the dance of God's healing choreography let us move gracefully amid what would harm us, and find healing as we endure what could make us despair."
The five movements, also the chapter titles, are:
1. From Our Little Selves to a Larger World
2. From Holding Tight to Letting Go
3. From Fatalism to Hope
4. From Manipulation to Love
5. From a Fearful Death to a Joyous Life
I really recommend this Nouwen book for anyone who is wanting to dance but finding that a time to mourn sometimes interferes.
7 comments:
Ruth, I believe that it is most important to dance in times of stress and sorrow because that is when we need it most. The words you share from the book are a wonderful guide to how we should live life. Although life is hard at times and sorrow is a part of life, the joy of dancing can help us get through good times and bad.
Ruth, this is beautiful. I think I need to read this book.
Nouwen's words are always so powerful, Ruth - thank you for the bright gems you find in his work, and for sharing them. These lines are priceless: "But these steps in the dance of God's healing choreography let us move gracefully amid what would harm us, and find healing as we endure what could make us despair."
Ruth, thank you for the recommendation. Nouwen is a favorite writer, and this one sounds like one my husband and I are ready to read. We haven't yet. I wanted to copy and paste and remember those same lines that Fran posted above. Yes, indeed, priceless. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you,Ruth. The first steps of grief are definitely hard to learn. And yet... there is something to be gained. There is a dance that is appropriate. Thank you for this recommendation and for reminding me to read Nouwen.
As usual, your post sends me to a new space for learning. Thanks for recommending this book and for sharing the quote. A time to mourn and a time to dance. And sometimes they occur at the same time.
"But these steps in the dance of God's healing choreography let us move gracefully amid what would harm us, and find healing as we endure what could make us despair."
Thank you for sharing chapter titles with us too. Definitely a book I want to explore.
Oh boy, thank you for this recommendation, Ruth. I need it now.
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