The Game of Love

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Born to be Loved

A child’s way into this world is ushered in by love. At the moment of ‎birth, from out of nowhere, the mother is flooded with a surge of love; ‎joy of its purest form binds mother and babe ever after.‎

Captivated by rays of dancing sunlight on the walls, a child plays by ‎himself, lost for hours within his enchanted kingdom.‎

Love is our birthright, is it not? By the same token, is not play our ‎due? The game of love thereupon delivered. A natural birth indeed, ‎however, in time we forget how to play.‎

We are gifted with many inborn abilities for self-expression but at ‎times we are just unable to connect. A little investigation and deep ‎probing may be necessary to discover and embody our unique and ‎natural talents.‎

A blog is driven by passion but it is not always accessible. What’s a girl ‎to do?

Foreplay

LOG

I begin by treasure hunting. I search for jeweled pins to cleverly tie ‎together all the puzzle pieces: the topic, the anecdotes, the ‎newsworthy, the facts and, of course, the play on words… Even if my ‎subject is clear, I will never begin to write until I have discovered the ‎loving path to play. I simply cannot begin to brew my blog without a ‎hefty dose of love and a clear game plan.‎

Good Morning!‎

It is five a.m. Saturday morning and I am busy at the computer ‎composing this week’s new post. I’ve been awake since about three ‎a.m.! I pulled myself out of a dream to record some important pins: ‎thoughts and ideas that I just could not afford to lose. On the one ‎hand, in an effort to go back to sleep, I tried listening to a guided ‎meditation but, on the other hand, I kept pausing to record yet ‎another “must remember this”, more glue to properly seal the post… ‎At four a.m. I gave in and got up. I just could not shut off my mind’s ‎chitter chatter. I had to get up and begin to write before all of my ‎beautiful jewels would be lost forever between the sheets. ‎

And now I find myself desperately trying to recover all of my notes. ‎My electronic notebooks have autocorrected all of my mistakes and ‎suddenly I simply cannot understand what I see in front of me! I can’t ‎remember what it was that I wrote down.

HELP! Is there anyone in the ‎house who speaks “smart”?!

I Need a Translator Pronto!‎

So as my beloved whispered to me last night: “the foreplay lasts a ‎week” and I love every minute of it: the caresses, magical words, ‎embraces, laughter and the journey of discovery the foreplay brings. ‎With no further ado, a blog is born.‎

I am ever so grateful that my family still stands by me. Any words are ‎fair game to be snatched and electronically engraved and displayed ‎for all to see. I can see hubby now as I write, warning me not to take ‎what is not mine… He is still smiling so we must be good for now!‎

Going Steady

Last night we dined at our favorite neighborhood Druze restaurant, ‎El’Kheir (Carmel, Haifa), a jewel not to be missed. On the one hand, ‎hubby and I simply don’t go out enough, but, on the other hand, we ‎are always going out…‎

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When our children were still young, hubby and I began our Friday ‎morning routine. Every Friday we would go out for breakfast and play: ‎biking, frolicking on the beach and even discovering the magic of ‎ballroom dancing. We reignited our passion and our relationship ‎blossomed.‎

dancing

It is Saturday. These days Saturday is our day to mountain bike ‎together. Of late, we have been joining the Mercaz Shetach, Alon ‎Haglail bikers.‎

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Saturday morning, just past seven a.m., and it is ever so busy. The ‎parking lots are full and everyone has hit the trails.‎

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Last Saturday I was missed, or so they say. Between you and me, I ‎know that they were just missing the treats that I bring along, the ‎stuffed dates (nuts and sometimes even chocolate – yummy…).‎

MMM Magic

Last Saturday I spent at a Nia workshop. I had to pass on our Saturday ‎bike ride.‎ About the time that we began ballroom dancing and mountain biking ‎in earnest, Nia came into my life

…What the heck is Nia?!‎

Please allow me to share some pearls straight out of the “playroom”:‎


♦ It’s energy, it’s joy, it’s fun … it’s hot!‎

♦ I am fifty and I never danced before. Suddenly I am dancing and I feel ‎WONDERFUL!‎

♦ I come in beat and leave … WOW!‎

♦ It (Nia) allows me to be a butterfly, a salsero, a yogi … to be as I fancy!‎

♦ In Nia there is something about the Joy of Movement, it is more than ‎the choreography or the technique. It is food for the soul.‎


Are you curious? A picture is worth a thousand words… Please take a ‎look here…‎

For many, Nia is a homecoming of sorts, arousing deep primal ‎emotions and evoking a passionate path of self-discovery. I must ‎admit that this was not the case for me. One day I simply saw my ‎reflection in the mirror and recalled my former self. She was gone. ‎Little semblance of resemblance remained. Nia certainly played a big part of this change.‎

I discovered the body of a dancer: not just the muscle tone but the ‎movements as well. For the first time, I felt the blossoms of grace as I ‎moved. I dared to speak from the heart. Gone were the detached ‎meetings with strangers. My characteristically gruff outer demeanor ‎and my inner reserve disappeared as my whole emerged. For once, ‎the inside and the outside radiated with contagious happiness and joy.‎

I found myself embraced by a powerful community, each dancer ‎bringing his own unique self to class. It was wonderful to see the ‎magic that accompanied each and every teacher to the dancefloor, ‎each a star in his own right.‎

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My first Nia workshop was a memorable experience. We had only just ‎begun and suddenly the power went out. Our amazing trainer did not ‎even bat an eye. She continued to move. She led us with her moves ‎and her sweet song. Such was the bulk of our workshop: no lights but ‎one shining star was amongst us. This was but a glimpse of the magic ‎that Nia had to offer.‎

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The Nia technique has a secret method to transcribe both music and ‎movement. Neither a musician nor a dancer by birth, even I was able ‎to artistically master the “baring” (Nia’s musical notation) technique. I ‎now boast the fluency of a secret magical language.‎

As I began my practice of Nia, I rediscovered the magic of play. I ‎embodied the Joy of Movement (JOY). Happiness and play paved my ‎way forward. My love for life expanded exponentially. ‎

Rosh Hashanna, the Jewish New Year, is upon us and I wish to give ‎gratitude. Thanks dear sis for bringing Nia into my life.

With love and with play life is sweeter. ‎
Shana Tova Ve Metuka ♥‎

P.S. What the heck is Nia?! Want to discover first hand? Come ‎and join me this and every Tuesday evening!‎


I would like to thank you for your patience in reading this post to its end.‎

If you liked what you read and you are not on my mailing list, you can sign up ‎here.‎

Finally I would like to request that you please share my post which precedes the ‎release of my animated clip (soon, I promise). I am so excited! Please share this ‎post…

Thank you and have a great week!‎

HBNE

You tell your future! The power is ours!