The Nutcracker

Amongst the many whimsical tidings of the Christmas season is the renowned ballet, The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky's music is known to populations all around the world. In case you do not know what the Nutcracker is about, it follows a young girl named Clara, and her dream after a Christmas Party. For the first time in twelve years, I managed to land myself in a ballet studio that performs the Nutcracker in December (I still want to get one of those "My first Nutcracker" onesies). The ballet itself is a pleasure to perform, but the stress kicks in when theatre week begins. 

Theatre week, in a nutshell, is the week leading up to the show. There are rehearsals every single day, for a few hours. By the end of the week, and the final performance, there is total relief. I'm still sore, and probably will be for the next couple of days.

The funny thing about ballet, however, is that it is so engrossing, impassioned, and fun (in my case) that a few days without a single dance class or rehearsal is just devastating. Perhaps not devastating, but along the lines of what-do-I-do-with-my-life-now-this-is-too-weird. Dance is one of the greater parts of my life. It has become so built-in to my personal culture that not dancing is just...weird. But often, I get wrapped up in other stresses. Then life kind of plummets, spiraling into a numbing schedule. The routine is a killer of joy, as well as purpose. I have danced for so long that a couple of times I have become so swept up in doing everything right, mounting all stress and anxiety humanly possible onto already laden shoulders.

Passion for a particular activity+incomprehensible stress=forgetting why you do said activity

And of course, once I care more about doing things right than enjoying myself, I create my own personal black hole. Into the hole goes inspiration, happiness, passion, hope. It really sucks. Which is why, every once in a while, take a day off. Go sit in the woods, or hike a mountain, or sit on the back porch with your cat. Clear the mind. Remember why it is you write or dance or hunt or do anything. Make sure you aren't spending greater parts of your energy on things that don't really matter, or aren't devoting enough of your time to something you actually care about. When it's show time, show the world passion and joy, and they shall be entertained.