Dancing is a Communal Act

So dancing is not just dancing. It is also having a relationship with other dancers. And don't be jealous, especially secretly. That's the worst kind. If someone dances something great, it's just more clarity in the world for all of us. Don't make dancers "other", different from you: "They are good and I am bad." Don't create dichotomy. It makes it hard to become good if you create that duality. The opposite, of course, is also true: if you say, "I am great and they aren't," then you become too proud, unable to grow as a dancer or hear criticism of your work. Just "They are good and I am good." That statement gives a lot of space. "They have been at it longer, and I can walk their path for a while and learn from them."

It's much better to be a tribal dancer, dancing with all the people and reflecting many voices through us, than to be a cloistered being trying to find one peanut of truth in our own individual mind. Become big and dance with the whole world in your arms.

(Adapted from "Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg. Replace "dancing/dancer" with "writing/writer" and you more or less get her original text.)