I agree completely with Ms Graham. It is passion that makes a dancer great. I would extend that to any kind of artist. Great musicians aren't great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion. The same for great singers, painters, writers, any kind of artist. Which is not to say that technique is not important, it is. But it's the passion that makes the artist stand out.
I was never by any stretch of the imagination a great musician or dancer, but I have done both. I miss both greatly and want to do both again.
I was very good at both, not great, but very good. One thing I learned has really stuck with me over the years. There were songs I knew by heart and loved to play on the piano. I practiced them over and over and over until I didn't need music. I didn't think about it. I just put my hands on the keyboard and played. It was at these times that I was my best.
LIVING IN THE PRESENT TENSE
Olin Morales has a great blog named Courage 2 Create. I read it often. He recently had a piece about choosing in which tense you live your life - past, present or future.
We all know people who live in the past. Many of us are guilty of it. We long for days when things were better and more simple. Or we wish we could go back to times in our life when we made a bad decision that resulted in words being spoken that we regret or actions being taken that we regret.
Many of us live in the future as well. "I'll be so happy when . . . ". We focus on what we think we need to have in the future in order to be happy. We spend a lot of time thinking about how great things will be down the road when the bills are paid off, we have that dream house and dream car, lose 20 pounds and marry the perfect spouse. I think it's healthy to want more than we have, it motivates us. But it is not healthy to allow our preoccupation with what we hope to have in the future to create present unhappiness.
Living in either of these tenses prevents us from fully experiencing today. We must strive to live in the present tense. Yes, there are things about life today that suck. No doubt about it. But there are also many wonderful things about life today. There is beauty all around us if we take the time to look for it. There is so much to be learned, seen, experienced. We shortchange ourselves when we fail to fully experience the moment we are in right now.
If you would like to read all of Mr. Morales' enlightening article, you can do so here.
