Twala Tharp, world famous choreographer and dancer was demonstrating how, in her late 60s, she stays limber. As she went through a series of rolls and stretches and then rewarded herself happily by bouncing around on a very large bright blue aerobic ball, she was joyful and yes, very limber. When done she slapped her knee and said ” that my friend, is the decipline of being free”. As I sit here, much less limber, than a woman nearly twice my age, I was struck by the ache in my knees just from watching her and the beauty of the phase: “the discipline of being free”.
If you’re used to my writing than you know that I truly believe that those ‘ah ha’ moments are magic. And this was certainly one of those moments. But that is where my romance with those moments end. Because I also believe that they don’t change your life one iota without the work.
What Ms Tharp was saying, was what I’ve been saying from day one. “Trust the process. Show up and do the work and you will be free to develop yourself and your creativity in the process”.
In my Fear less, Live More Bridge Club I invite all members to do the same: There’s no ‘right moment. Let’s do the right work, right now and the freedom to live the life you want to live will come in the process.
As far as doing the work as the ‘decipline of being free’ – I,for one, have been stretching every day since I saw her bouncing on that ball!
As a special treat for the creatives in all of us, here’s a bit more from Twyla on motiviation, creativity and ‘doing the work’.
