I admit she‘s easy on the eyes; her Argentinean pedigree and Spanish heritage insure exotic beauty. She’s slender and strides like liquid weaving through smooth stones; a lifetime of professional dance somewhat guarantees her sensual grace. She‘s prophetic and sanguine; her generosity and deep awareness belie the youth of her face.
We’re there to share notes on each others business and she breaks the ice with things beloved. Coincidentally, things in common: music, dance, art, travel, success in endeavors and witnessing positive change in people connected.
She speaks with the firm authority of a seasoned businesswoman; she owns and manages a successful dance studio. She emotes with the rich authenticity of a guru and wet nurse; she teaches with a gift for drawing profound parallels between art and life.
As I marvel at her Wonder Woman traits, she explains how she was once enslaved by fear. How she lacked confidence and needed constant reassurance and approval. Her affirmations fall like noisy pennies on the table between us. I collect her words trying to find the fit with the woman I see in front of me. I struggle to connect until she shares how she found her freedom in bars: Karaoke bars.
A child prodigy dancing from age two and a star of the stage most of her life, she still trembled like a dashboard bubble-head driving over a gravel road every time she faced the Karaoke mic.
It took over thirty terrifying trips to the stage, before gripping fear slackened and mocking laughter from audiences became silent awe. Thirty trips to a stage to face an embarrassment easily avoided – why? In each trip something new was gained: courage. Ultimately it was the fuel needed to burn down fear.
I share this conversation not to wax on about talented, beautiful people but to relay that fear enslaves us all, even the talented and beautiful – ask me, I’ve worked behind the scenes with some of the most talented entertainers in the world. Also to acknowledge how counter-intuitive it is to walk into the jaws of whatever frightens us. Every fear is its own individual war with two choices: concede or courage. I’ll leave you with words from one of the most courageous human beings to walk amongst us. By chance another beautiful woman.
“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” Rosa Parks
Hi Chris,
Thank you so much for your kind words.
Life is an amazing journey and if we don’t do things that scare us sometimes it is easy to forget this.
It is when our hearts are pumping that we unmistakenly feel alive!
Nina