This month, a world-renowned dance teacher named Shai Faran visited us in Dallas.
She held a workshop at our movement gym titled “Passing Time”
where we explored our relationship with time as it applies to movement.

Sometimes my life feels like I’m in bumper-to-bumper highway traffic.
I’m at a standstill when the lane opens up in front of me.
Now is the time to get somewhere special.
I slam on the gas, but something cuts me off, and I slam on the brakes.
Now, I’m forced to be with what is.

What I mean is that I’m still learning how to drive.
This is where our practices come into play.
Our practice, whatever that is for you, be it
movement, writing, meditation, or walking down the street,
allows us to become better drivers.
Instead of slamming on the pedals,
we learn how to skillfully press the throttle
and navigate around traffic.

Whatever the speed,
I notice that whenever I let go of trying to do everything at once,
and focus instead on just a couple of important things,
more space opens up in life.
Here, everything falls into place.

I led my first movement class this month.
It wasn’t much, just getting the class warmed up.
Still, I felt honored to be given that opportunity.
I want to keep growing in movement,
enjoying those benefits,
and sharing with those interested.

Book Updates:

I finally reached 40k words in my new fiction book, halfway to my 80k goal.
It’s a story about a young fisherman following his dreams to save his lost mother in a land of dying dreams.
By following his dream, he awakens the dreams of those around him.
It’s not very good right now, but that’s how first drafts go.
I like where it’s going.
Once it’s done, the real writing starts.

This month, I joined a weekly writer’s group.
I wanted to meet other writers and improve my writing.
It’s a big group, around fifty people each week,
so we split into five groups of ten.
A moderator starts a fifteen-minute timer and one person reads their writing.
When the timer ends, 
Listeners have one minute to give feedback.
No back-and-forth discussion, just feedback.
Then the next person reads.
They run a tight ship.

I was pumped to share the first chapter of my book with this new group.
I imagined they would all applaud and tell me how amazing I was at writing…
“That was incredible!”… “I can’t wait to hear the rest of the story!”… “How did you do it?!”
So I read my book,
and I got mixed reviews.
One of the biggest criticisms:
Where was the hook, the tension, the excitement?
My book starts subdued, but I guess for some people that’s just another word for boring.
I like my chapter one, but it’s something to think about,
and I appreciate the group challenging me.
Otherwise, it’s hard to see ourselves when we’re alone.

I look forward to what’s unfolding,
and what is here and now.
I hope all is well with you, too.

Love,
David

PS – I worked out a deal with the movement gym. The Movement Standard has an online Movement Foundations course that offers weekly videos exploring the movement practice. My code (SMART50) saves you 50% for the first month, and I get a kickback from sign-ups.

It’s one of the few things, apart from my books, I’m excited to sell.
I hope this benefits those wanting to dive more into learning about the body and mind.
Let me know if you have any questions.