Finding Balance

After a dance workshop, a good woman gives a thank you hug to the genius loci of two Manhattan dance schools (one and the other). The genius says, come on, let’s dance, takes the woman by the hand and leads her back to the dance floor. The woman weakly protests, because she has already changed into her street shoes, a pair of athletic flats, but cannot resist the chance to dance with a good leader. I watch the two of them dance for a few seconds and realize that the woman moves with much more grace and confidence than usual. It occurs to me that all this time she has been fighting her dance shoes, struggling to maintain balance. I get very excited about this discovery and point out this metamorphosis to our teacher. The teacher agrees with me and suggests to the woman a model of low- and broad-heeled shoes and where to buy them. I will not be surprised to see a dramatic change in this woman's dancing. A series of trivial discoveries, small mitzvahs, and a little bit of mindfulness goes a long way.