Conflict Is Like Dancing

Conflict for me is like dancing. It is something I am learning how to do, and I know that no matter how much I practice, I can always try it in a new form, and I can always get better. There are so many styles of dancing, and everyone even tends to have their own personal style no matter what the type of dance. The people you dance alongside, whether they mean to be or not, often become your teachers, if in nothing more than providing examples of the best way to execute a particular move, or an example of what not to do. Dancing requires me to use muscles that maybe aren’t as developed as they should be. Sometimes when I’m done dancing I feel euphoric but other times I am in pain from stretching myself in so many different directions. Depending on the day, dancing can make me feel better, calmer, or it can leave me feeling frustrated and inferior to those around me. Just like when I first begin to learn a dance, conflict can feel chaotic and difficult to follow, but the more I practice the more comfortable I become in the steps and in moving appropriately together, or apart from, the others on the floor. When I learn a new dance, it is a lot like confronting a new conflict. Each one is still confusing at first, but become progressively less so as the common steps, jumps, and turns become natural parts of the process to me. I am always nervous before a dance performance, unsure of how its going to work out. I like to dance more for myself than as a performance for others, so I prefer to dance alone, for enjoyment, or in the back of the group if it is a performance. Sometimes after a performance I find myself looking back and thinking about what I could have done better. Just like a dance that is perfectly performed, a resolved conflict leaves me with a sense of satisfaction. It is often a feeling of solidarity and group accomplishment with the people I worked alongside.