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The dance of our story

Writer's picture: EkanemEkanem

Updated: Nov 1, 2024



Power, ownership and rhythm are the few things that spring to my mind as my finger tips slap the letters on my keyboard, clickety clack.... reminds me of the dance.


Our stories are also like a dance. Think about it, anytime you hesitate in a dance, you misstep, lose rhythm, perhaps annoy your partner or others on the dance floor....clickety clack, clickety clack. Its sometimes a solo dance. It does not always require a partner just you, the sound in your head, the the rhythm of your heart, the pace on your path....clickety clack.


I can think of many times I have mis stepped, taken the wrong path, misinterpreted my own heart or the sound in my own head. I had thought I heard right but no I had misheard, it wasn't my own clickety clack. Easily done in the very busy, sometime noisy world we exist in.


I had meant to respond but then remembered I had a school run....

I had meant to own that turn but all my juice was gone....

I had meant to say I'm sorry but they didn't return ….clickety clack, clickety clack


The clickety clack dance also known as tap dance is believed to have originated from enslaved Africans and Irish indentured servants that observed each other’s dances on Southern plantations and that tap dancing was born from this contact. Tap dance | Origin, History, Styles, & Facts | Britannica


I marvel at the depth, the complexity and intensity of stories they must have told each other on those plantations, finding solace in their powerful rhythmic movements, finding commonality and a sense of belonging and expression in the language of dance. Music and dance continue to have power on our individual stories, they did then as they do now. The Harvard business reviews/research confirms that story telling is a very powerful way of conveying a message, learning, leadership and many other collaborative exercises one might need to achieve.


Over the years it would seem that how we choose to tell those stories, our stories continues to evolve. It does not always matter how you tell the story, the crucial bit is that you find a way of telling it, expressing it and sharing to bring enrichment to the life experienced. At the heart are precious things that result from telling these stories and the same things required in our dance.


1) Power - This is a term used often when we might consider ourselves full of it but not so much when we have less of it. I know I have felt powerless sometimes, like when my mum passed away from cancer, or going off sick due to stress and anxiety, becoming a single parent unexpectedly. There are many other instances I can recall feeling powerless. Waiting for a job interview result or an exam result, feeling alienated because of cultural differences. This is why the seasons of being powerful are so important on the journey, we draw strength from them like a reservoir in our hearts or on our timeline, a deep well of riches. We give our unique story significance, we acknowledge it is real and true for us. I felt power-full when I published my first book last year and finally getting back a rhythm to start my second book makes me feel even more so. I am powerful because i have found a medium of authentic expression and this has been honoured. Thank you.


I am powerful when I choose my health and family over ambition, I am powerful choosing me. Nothing wrong with ambition but nothing enriches me like people or my personal health. This leads on to the second result I perceive in stories.


2) Ownership - The sense of knowing something belongs to you should be great motivation on our journey. The pride of being a mum or dad, the challenge in leading a dynamic team, the sense of ownership in acquiring a new business or house, the heartbreak of a relationship breakdown, the isolation of an illness, the readjustment of a relocation all give opportunity to take ownership. All these aspects of our lives give us opportunity to enrich our story and explore who we are. We can either choose to own it or deny it. We can choose to share or hide it, we can choose to grow from it or remain stagnated.


3) Rhythm - The third thing I have experienced with my story is rhythm. Its the dance we do reflecting our own thought processes, our imaginations, the beat of our heart and of course the seasons of our lives.


"There is a rhythm to you and what you do. Find it, and in so doing, you will find others who harmonize with it." The Painted Flawless Manual


When we become fluent in rhythm there is capacity and opportunity for dynamic effects - which is simply movement or operating at scale. This is where it becomes a really enjoyable experience not simply for you but for as many who come in to experience the story too. As we scale up through rhythm we operate with dynamics and what had seemed a trivial task at a small perhaps obscure level suddenly appears on a billboard, your story fully represented.


I may not know much but I am learning to own the power of my story every day hence the clickety clack....


Whatever season you may be in, hope you find the "clickety clack" that is the dance of your story too.


Be blessed

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