Ah, the dance

I went to a small, informal concert last night where the musicians played some waltzes and encouraged couples to dance. Several couples did get up and dance. I was enraptured.

There is such a sweet beauty to a couple that has been dancing together for many, many years. They know each other's groove in a special way. She knows when he will pause, or dip a bit to the left. He knows right where her hand will rest on his shoulder. They move together comfortably, seamlessly, as if they have rehearsed. In fact they have -- at every family wedding and social event for the past whatever number of years, they have done the routine -- the dip and weave as if by well-worn habit-- the moving hug in public.

Yet, as I watched them last night I was touched in a unique way. There was something heart-openingly beautiful about watching her rest her head against his shoulder, like she has for 30 years -- or seeing him confidently spin her under his arm, like he has so very many times before.

In a world that turns on unpredictable circumstance, and presents us all with sadness and loss when we least expect it, here was a moment of sweetness so pure and so simple that it made my soul ache.

Here, they were young again, and in love, turning forever in each other's arms with the grace of long-time lovers, lovers who know each others bodies, souls and hearts. There was no hesitancy in those bodies, just the well-worn comfort of years of being together, on and off the dance floor. It was a soft knowing, a time for the stars to come out in the dark sky, a moment when the moon pauses in her orbit for just a second, beguiled by the easy grace of these eternal dancers.