Force: Zest

Musing…

“Beauty awakens the soul to act” - Dante

The title for this post could have been beauty, but it needed to be zest. In combination, they are a force to contend with. You may wonder what the cascade of flowers are - they are hanging nasturtiums at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of Boston. These are edible flowers with a peppery taste. Zest for your palate, beauty on display - and now I’m growing them in containers, eagerly awaiting the orange buds.

Charise’s Turn:

“True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.” - Albert Einstein

That irresistible creative urge with an urgency to act can be found in unusual places because it lives outside the perimeter of fear or hesitation. Here’s a noble and extraordinary example: in Iraq a cellist, Karim Wasfi, sets a stool on a bombed out street to sit and play a piece he has composed titled “Baghdad Mourning”. This is his neighborhood and his artistic activism. “I play to show life is worth living – I can’t beat the bombs with my cello, but I can bring respect for the dead.” (Wasfi quoted April 30 in The Telegraph)

Segue to a more humble event organized by urban studies professor and community activist Bill Hanna: Langley Park Day in Maryland. This is a free health fair for the local Latino community, providing services otherwise unaffordable. There are festivities to draw the residents there, such as my performance with Ancient Rhythms Dance Company. On the rented festival stage, in the bright sun, I am dancing with a gold cane for the first time, mostly self-taught over the course of a week. The accompanying Libyan music is hearty, celebratory.

I could have played it safe with what I already know from my twelve years of Middle Eastern dance experience. But my enthusiasm demanded this artistic venture. I like the feel of balancing the cane on my head, twirling it in my hand, striking it against the ground and swinging it back up to my shoulder. While advised to use Velcro on my headband to secure the cane, this seemed like cheating, so I counted on faith instead. I wanted to communicate with my prop, not control it. My zest became contagious as Judith Hanna (Bill’s wife), a dance scholar, writer, and professor, asked me to teach what I had performed.

“It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys.” - Antoine de Saint- Exupery

Get Fired Up:

How are you compelled to act? Let your enthusiasm lead - and lead you right through any hesitation. The force of zest defies misgivings. 

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