The sun is shining brighter than before and the temperature is soaring high. Emerging from the Grand Central Terminal, I am hit by the usual vivacious spirit of the city! While frolicking on the road, I snacked on these amazing lip-smacking eats of the street fairs. Back home, I met Mrs. Bradley in her garden. She looked happy and cheerful as always but I noticed something extra this time. “How are you doing Mrs. Bradley? You look so happy!” I expressed.
She took me to her apartment and after feeding me with some amazing red velvet cookies, she got an old album. She turned a few pages and pointed out at an image where I could see her entire family immersed in a musical galore dancing away to glory in the living room. It is the same living room where we were sitting. The picture was taken more than a decade ago where the entire family was captured in a ‘picture perfect frame’. “Oh, Bob! Dance Day is here and both my sons will be here this week. We are going to relive the old dancing days and recreate this memory alive again,” she added.
The loss of her husband at an early age had left her with the responsibilities of two sons along with the household chores. The keys of her piano would instill a sense of hope in her and let her rise high just like the high octave notes of the piano. Her music would transmit both her sons to a complete state of happiness as they would be dancing to her tunes. “Even though things were not fine most of the times, we found solace in this,” she added.
“Why don’t you play something for us now,” I asked. “Oh! Why not?” she added and went near her grand piano. I got Kong from my place to join us at this sudden dance spree.
If you missed the train I’m on
You will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles…
As Mrs. Bradley played ‘A Hundred Miles’, Kong and I tried doing some freestyle moves simultaneously being meticulous of not tripping over the vintage table. We even wanted to see if Kong would be interested to strike the black and white keys but he seemed quite nonchalant at trying this new thing up.
There are many things around us to fall back on when the going gets really difficult in life. It was not a person, place or thing but dance, an art form coupled with some good music, in Mrs. Bradley’s situation that nurtured and comforted her and the entire family. How subtly it healed the wounds and soothed the unrest in the mind! Having an outlet for channelizing the emotions always helps to instill the vigor for carrying out the everyday challenges with a smile. Surpassing all barriers, it evokes a sense of positivity from within. Identify that one thing which helps to bounce back with renewed enthusiasm to combat the uncertainties in life. When everything else fails, try this trick, its magic!
We would love to know your plans for this day!
