If I Could Get a Do-Over

I was watching "The Soloist" the other day and was completely moved by a single aspect of the movie. Watching Nathaniel (Jamie Fox's character) play his cello. When this man placed this instrument in his hands, his eyes closed and you could see in his face that he was completely engrossed in the sound and feeling of the music. My little sister is a dancer. I can remember watching her dance for a school pageant. This was before we had ever seen her freestyle a dance (she was on the band auxiliary).  She stepped out on the stage in all white and persisted to bring tears to my eyes.  She too possessed that look of complete absorption.  

I am holding up a mirror and asking myself is there anything in my life that causes me to engross myself so deeply that the passion is evident on my face to everyone. I don't think that I do. I used to play the flute a long time ago. I liked it, but never fully learned to play in a way that would allow me to explore compositions. I consider myself a dancer. I love to dance, but I never took the time to truly immerse myself.  I took up roller skating a few years ago...whew! Now that is fun!! This would be the skating on quads (the regular skates) and learning to dance. I have gotten to the point where I don't look a fool, but again I haven't taken the time to learn to do it in a way that it could become a passion of mine. 

If I could get a do-over on certain things in my life, I think one of these three things would be my do over. I would not quit on the flute just because I moved to a new school.  I would master the instrument and become familiar with Bach, Mozart, and Gaubert.  OR, I would demand to be placed in ballet, jazz, and hip-hop dance classes. I would dance for the sheer joy that comes when you let go and just dance. OR, I would actually go to the skate classes and then practice! So that Friday Nights at Golden Glide, I wouldn't have to hug the wall.

If I could get a do-over, I would chose to start my life out on a passionate note. So that when I reached an age of reflection, I could look back and say that I fully immersed myself in something greater than myself.