Excitedly, she obliges, and the two make their way to the dance floor, hand in hand, pausing only to catch the rhythm of the song before starting in on the familiar pattern of east-coast swing.
One, two, rock-step.
One, two, rock-step.
One, two, rock-step.
And so on.
When both are performing their parts well, one song can be a symphony, a work of art, a pleasure to watch and even more of a pleasure to perform. The two are not just performing solos at the same time, but a duet that interweaves two unique people in a delightful harmony.
That harmony can be disrupted swiftly if either half of the duet fails to perform his or her part. If the lead changes his mind mid-move and decides to do a different move, the follow may not be able to interpret his meaning in time, and they stall. Or the lead may accidentally send a wrong signal and send the follow on a wild goose chase, which sometimes can be compensated for beautifully and incorporated into the routine, but sometimes can also lead to a stall. Or the lead may just fail to lead at all, leaving the follow confused as he dances around her, making her a backup singer to his wildly-vamping solo.
But I'm not here to teach the leads how to lead. I wouldn't know how. I only know the steps for a follow, and I know that the difference between a good follow and a bad follow is about being the perfect balance of astute and flexible.
If the follow is not paying attention, she will always lag one step behind. She'll constantly be surprised when the lead nudges her in a certain way that she wasn't expecting, and she'll stall, trying to figure out what to do. The couple pauses to regroup. If the follow is expecting a certain pattern of moves and the lead changes it slightly from the normal routine, she will first resist, wanting to go back into the routine, before finally realizing that the lead wants her to move differently. The dancers slow down slightly, readjusting.
But what if the follow pays too much attention to the lead, analyzing each way he tends to nudge her into a different move? She may get most things right, but eventually she will over-anticipate the lead's intentions and move before he sends her the signal. Now, when that happens, she has taken the lead for herself, and that can be disastrous. If the follow anticipates a move that the lead is not planning - which requires him to be there to brace her lest she fall - and he was not planning that move, she will fall. If the follow anticipates a move that requires the lead to move out of her path while she goes straight, she will bump into him. There will be stopping and mashing of toes.
The dance goes smoother when you don't anticipate and just wait for that clear lead. But it is also smoother when you are paying attention for that lead to come. Therefore the perfect way to follow is to combine anticipation with patience. And, well, sometimes that takes time.
That harmony can be disrupted swiftly if either half of the duet fails to perform his or her part. If the lead changes his mind mid-move and decides to do a different move, the follow may not be able to interpret his meaning in time, and they stall. Or the lead may accidentally send a wrong signal and send the follow on a wild goose chase, which sometimes can be compensated for beautifully and incorporated into the routine, but sometimes can also lead to a stall. Or the lead may just fail to lead at all, leaving the follow confused as he dances around her, making her a backup singer to his wildly-vamping solo.
But I'm not here to teach the leads how to lead. I wouldn't know how. I only know the steps for a follow, and I know that the difference between a good follow and a bad follow is about being the perfect balance of astute and flexible.
If the follow is not paying attention, she will always lag one step behind. She'll constantly be surprised when the lead nudges her in a certain way that she wasn't expecting, and she'll stall, trying to figure out what to do. The couple pauses to regroup. If the follow is expecting a certain pattern of moves and the lead changes it slightly from the normal routine, she will first resist, wanting to go back into the routine, before finally realizing that the lead wants her to move differently. The dancers slow down slightly, readjusting.
But what if the follow pays too much attention to the lead, analyzing each way he tends to nudge her into a different move? She may get most things right, but eventually she will over-anticipate the lead's intentions and move before he sends her the signal. Now, when that happens, she has taken the lead for herself, and that can be disastrous. If the follow anticipates a move that the lead is not planning - which requires him to be there to brace her lest she fall - and he was not planning that move, she will fall. If the follow anticipates a move that requires the lead to move out of her path while she goes straight, she will bump into him. There will be stopping and mashing of toes.
The dance goes smoother when you don't anticipate and just wait for that clear lead. But it is also smoother when you are paying attention for that lead to come. Therefore the perfect way to follow is to combine anticipation with patience. And, well, sometimes that takes time.
Sometimes you have more practicing to do, get to know your lead better, but it definitely pays to learn to be a better follow.
Sound like anything else to you?
Jesus said to his disciples, "come follow me." So if I'm following him, and he's leading me, you could say we're dancing. And when we dance, he really is the perfect lead. He gives just enough of a signal and he knows what moves I know, so he won't lead me into something I'm not ready for.
Jesus said to his disciples, "come follow me." So if I'm following him, and he's leading me, you could say we're dancing. And when we dance, he really is the perfect lead. He gives just enough of a signal and he knows what moves I know, so he won't lead me into something I'm not ready for.
But I like to anticipate what God has planned for me.
God moves in a certain way, that could mean he's leading me in one direction, so I anticipate that and start going there, only to realize that wasn't what he had planned at all, and now I've stumbled around and lost my rhythm, all because I misinterpreted instead of waiting for His clear lead.
No comments:
Post a Comment