It would be one where the battle against fear was at the center, and every pair of shoes was responsible for the fight. Fear. Fear reared its ugly head and won. Fear had been so deeply rooted into my soul, that I knew no other way out. So instead, I locked it up…as tight as I could. I built fortress of protection and buried it deep within. In time, I became the person everyone else expected or wanted me to be and I played the part, too afraid to be myself, with the fear that I would be rejected, abandoned, left behind…

The young teenager, in the center of the dance floor, cradling her heart and soul in her hands. It was her greatest defense against fear. She danced to stay strong. She danced to survive. Her soul became every moment, every beat, every rhythm. It was her safe haven; her place to go when everything around her was unraveling faster than she could twirl across the dance floor. Here, her spirit was free. She felt no pain. She heard no yelling. She didn’t have to be perfect.  She knew who she was when she danced.

Her teacher was an angel, guiding her movements and revealing the light within.  It was dance that held her sanity. The young teenager, who had it all locked up, was slowly dying on this inside. When everything around her was falling apart, dance gave her wings to fly.  Dance saved her. Period.

This was me.  And this…was my very first experience with courage. There was the voice inside that would whisper to me, “there is greatness in you..”  In me? Greatness? Doubtful…yet the voice continued to whisper softly time and time again..There is greatness in you. Don’t give up. Be fearless. Have you felt it too? At some point in your life…that little tugging at your heart, saying “this is it…do you feel it?” It was a small voice, but no matter how small it was, I heard it. And it was monumental…a breakthrough. A ba’al perazim…a breakthrough from God. I would feel this “ba’al perazim” at 3 other points in my journey as well. I felt it in the depths of my soul. Continue reading “If Shoes Could Tell a Story…”