Doing God’s Will is like ballroom dancing

I know this title sounds weird, but I’m sure it’s true. I’m also sure that I have heard this somewhere before. My point here is not to repeat what others said, but to say why and how I came to this.

I took dance lessons for many years. I did ballet, tap dancing, folk dancing, liturgical dancing, flamenco …and ballroom dancing. I can’t say that I was outstanding in any of them, but I definitely enjoyed it very much (I’m leaving some styles out)!!!

I must say, though, that of all the different types of dance, ballroom was for me by far the most challenging. Because I was so used to “free” dance, that is, dancing alone, I was a bit disoriented when I had to have a partner. I then had to limit my movements so that I don’t kick him! On top of that, because I’m the lady, I had to let him lead me…even if I thought he didn’t know the dance as well as me! I was not very good at any of this. My steps were often stiff (especially at the beginning), and I had this awkward tendency to lead the dance, but try to show that my partner was leading it. Needless to say, it aggravated more than one partner. One day, one such partner in my swing-dancing class told me, “Stop that! Let go! Pay attention to me and the dance will work!” I realized that I had to be flexible, “malleable” enough for him to move me, and let go of my “plan” of how the dance should be. I had to trust his move, even if I was unsure of what he was doing. I also had to physically get closer to him, so that I was actually absorbed by his moves, and feel from him which way I should move, not just think it.

I found that this is very similar to doing God’s Will. When the music of life begins, God is the leader. He wants to dance with us; and He wants this dance to be beautiful; but for the dance to work, we must pay attention to Him. We can’t just do the “right steps of life”; we must also be attentive to His every move, and let our bodies and souls perfectly follow and conform to the moves of the Leader, even if we think that we are restricted (this is actually an illusion; there are more possibilities of movement and formations with two dancers together). Like a woman entrusts herself in the arms of the man who leads her in the dance, we must entrust ourselves completely to the movement of God, knowing that He knows where we’re going together…and that the dance will be rapturous. And finally, we must become so close to Him…to the point of feeling with what strength He is holding and loving us.

Some people say that following God’s Will is hard. Sometimes it leads to hardship and sacrifice we had not wished for. Some think it is too obscure. Some talk of self-denial, deprivation and death of self. All this sounds so difficult!

I say that doing God’s Will is like ballroom dancing. It’s as easy as accepting to dance and letting Him lead you. It is a dance of Trust and Love.

And the result is much more beautiful than dancing alone.