Tying it all together: soft addictions

Jonathan Fields from Awake at the Wheel posts again about social media replacing actual living, which ties nicely into both my recent post on that very topic AND the soft addictions post from less than a day ago:

"People keep talking about what a huge time sink social media can become…

But, I’ve noticed something else happening with increasing frequency. It seems like more and more bloggers and social media regulars are actually living their lives through social media, rather than living extraordinary lives outside of social media and blogging, then tapping it as a means to share their experiences with a like-minded community online."

Read more at http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/into-the-social-media-abyss/

Soft Addictions

Thanks to Andrea Wagnon for linking me up to this over on Facebook!
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52408

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Do mindless activity and bad habits have a hold on you? Get the tow truck, you're in a rut.

By Jeanie Lerche Davis
WebMD Feature
Published Feb. 18, 2004

Downtime is America's favorite pastime. We zone out via television, the Internet, shopping, parties, movies, hanging out, and working out. Sure, some are bad habits; some are "therapy." Most are escapes from a gerbil-wheel life.

That's when it hits you: Is this all there is?

Losing your balance...

If I'm losing balance in a pose, I stretch higher and God reaches down to steady me. It works every time, and not just in yoga.
~T. Guillemets

Social media supplants living?

Renee's Tweet this week about how much time people spend online reading and talking about dance versus actually dancing is keenly close to some thoughts I have been having about social media in general. I really love the way social media connects us, and opens our world to new ideas and people the world over. It really is a miracle. On the other hand, sometimes I feel a little gross in the pit of my stomach when I see a sea of people pulling out their phones or cameras at every event, holding it in front of them trying to capture the moment to look at later--a true barrier between them and what they are experiencing.

What about seeing it NOW instead of seeing it in digital form later? What drives us to want to record our experiences rather than BE in them?

Case in point: When Chris presented me with my new beautiful anniversary ring in Vegas just a little over a week ago, I couldn't stop looking at it. And at him. And at the Bellagio fountains. Taking it all in. But then my very next instinct was "I can't wait to share this!" and my phone came out... Chris rolled his eyes. "You're going to Facebook this aren't you?" Guilty as charged, I put the phone away until a more opportune time--when we weren't in the middle of this amazing atmosphere, sharing in it together without a piece of tech between us. But it makes me wonder: when and how and why did this instinct embed itself so readily into my psyche? And how much are we seeing this come so naturally to all of us these days...?

Teaching dancers ethics and responsibility...

This topic has come out of a discussion that is being bandied about on one of our local discussion groups here in Washington. One of the many micro-topics within it had to do with the idea that dance need not be specifically a performance art. That it is in fact many things to many people, and not all of these people are interested in performing. I agree with that, and elaborated...

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I remember from when I first started teaching, it was really really important to me to make sure my students understood that this dance could be just for them if they wanted, and that no one was pushed or expected to perform it. I know for me, while I have always been a performer (lifetime background in theater, music, gymnastics, and Western dance forms), there were non-performance facets to this dance that were so important to me! Particularly being a tribal group improvisational dancer, this dance is so fun as a modern folk dance, which can be a social group dance at any gathering where the other dancers know the movements and cues. I have always loved dancing by the fire among fellow dancers, just jamming, not putting on a show for anyone! When I host open dance parties, I am trying to foster that free spirit of joy and sharing among other dancers, which has nothing to do with performance in the least.

I would add this food for thought, and would love to hear other teachers' take on it: