This blog has been a long time in the making, meaning its been living in my brain rent free for a few months while I got the capacity to write. In the few months, some of the details have gotten a little dusty, however, the overall message is still there.
A few months ago I was in a class and we were talking about pointed toes and straight legs making your lines look good. In the moment, my first thought was, I have too many curves for a straight line.
And then, out of nowhere, my own thoughts slapped me across the face. It’s all about the straight line, not the flat line. Flat is not human. Flat is 2d. We are real, living, moving beings. Nothing about us is truly flat, nor would we want it to be. The desire for flat lines is impossible.
Pointed toes and straight legs are not to make flat lines, they are to make straight lines. Straight lines to showcase the strength of our bodies. Straight lines to showcase the beauty of our curves. Straight lines to showcase the grace and ability we withhold.
So often we are critical of ourselves or the parts of our body we do not feel are “meeting the mark.” We tell ourselves are not “flat” enough or insert any “enough” phrase. We doubt and question ourselves and our ability. When we take a step back, how often are we simply misunderstanding the mission? How often is our perspective altering our understanding? The instructors at the studio are not trying to encourage me to be flat. The message I heard, the mission I momentarily (or for a long time) believed I was failing was never the mission at all.
The mission was not and is not to make flat lines. The mission is to make straight lines. Straight lines with human bodies means all lines will be different. All lines will be encased in different levels of beauty. Some bodies are full of curve, some bodies are flexible and able to bend, some bodies are long and some bodies are all of the above or none of the above. Our bodies are all different, all beautiful, all capable, and all different.
How often do we misunderstand the mission and blame our bodies or minds? Instead of questioning our bodies, maybe we need to practice questioning what we are hearing. Or questioning what we believe we are hearing. Understanding the true mission will be a game changer.
The mission is to love ourselves. The mission is to love and embrace everything within the straight lines I am able to make. The mission is to have strong lines.
