One of the dancers came into the studio hopping mad.\u00a0 Her neighbors had kept her awake all night with their noise so\u2026before she left in the wee hours of the morning \u2013 she turned her radio up full blast and placed the speaker up against their adjoining wall.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t that act of revenge that surprised me \u2013 what surprised me was who was exacting the revenge.\u00a0 Both she and I had (in the past year) taken up yoga \u2013 and it\u2019s not the physical transformation in yoga that is so profound \u2013 it is the mental shift \u2013 and trust me \u2013 revenge is NOT part of the scenario.<\/p>\n
Honestly \u2013 I know revenge is wrong \u2013 have for years.\u00a0 Revenge is for small minds \u2013 for children \u2013 for medieval thinkers \u2013 you know \u2013 the undeveloped and\/or the unevolved. But every now and then \u2013 something snaps in your brain and you want nothing more than the immediate gratification of a slap down.<\/p>\n
It had been a long and brutal tour \u2013 one of those jobs that the minute you sign the contract \u2013 you begin to question your judgment and your sanity. It was one of those jobs that broke every union rule \u2013 too many hours travelling before a show, not enough days off, too few hours between calls (which is when you finish the show and travel versus when you have to get back on the bus for the next show).\u00a0 A job like this takes a steep toll on the body and surviving it is simply a matter of mind over body \u2013 a stubborn determination not to give in.\u00a0 One foot in front of another and don\u2019t think about anything else.<\/p>\n
The migraine headache started during the performance.\u00a0 Luckily there wasn\u2019t a long trip back to home base after the show \u2013 we were actually staying in a hotel an hour away.\u00a0 When we got to the hotel \u2013 I checked the group in and immediately went to my room, closed the curtains and went to bed.\u00a0 Suddenly someone was pounding on my door.\u00a0 I stumbled through the darkened room and groped for the door.\u00a0 When I opened it \u2013 no one was there.\u00a0 \u201cIdiots\u201d, I thought as I went back to bed.\u00a0 Again \u2013 as I was dozing off \u2013 the pounding came again.\u00a0 Again I got up and again \u2013 the same results.\u00a0 The third time the pounding started, I sprang out the bed and ripped the door open in time to see two of the company dancers running down the hall giggling.\u00a0 They saw me and their mouths dropped open.\u00a0 I honestly can\u2019t remember what I said to them at the time \u2013 but the rest of the evening passed in peace.<\/p>\n
The next morning at breakfast \u2013 I was given a heartfelt apology from both of them.\u00a0 Apparently they thought someone else was in my room.\u00a0 In my mind \u2013 that really didn\u2019t explain why two twenty-something year olds were acting like two five year olds BUT I wasn\u2019t their mama \u2013 so what\u2019s the point of lecturing someone on their behaviour.\u00a0 What I did say was \u2013 \u201cI am going to get you back. \u00a0Some day soon.\u00a0 You won\u2019t know when it is going to happen but I can assure you that it will happen.\u201d\u00a0 It was kind of a shame that I had to make good on my threat.\u00a0 It was a lot of fun watching them squirm and jump at every sound for the next week.\u00a0 Eventually I arranged a few \u201con stage\u201d pranks \u2013 the sort that the audience isn\u2019t aware of but the cast instantly recognizes as a \u201cPlan B\u201d.\u00a0 On stage pranks really wake up the mind \u2013 you have to react quickly to something out of the ordinary.\u00a0 One victim \u2013 uh \u2013 dancer reacted quickly and had a blast with the entire scenario.\u00a0 The other panicked and pretty much had a meltdown.\u00a0 Oh well.<\/p>\n
This might have been revenge \u2013 but I preferred to think of it as payback \u2013 which brings me to karma.\u00a0 The need for revenge comes from anger and with the help of yoga and inner reflection – I have worked hard to let go of anger.\u00a0 Generally \u2013 I don\u2019t find joy in those moments when bad things happen to bad people \u2013 but\u2026\u2026every now and then (let me apologize to my yoga teacher now and say that I\u2019m working on this) \u2013 a satisfying smile comes to my face.<\/p>\n
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One of the dancers came into the studio hopping mad. Her neighbors had kept her awake all night with their noise so…before she left in the wee hours of the morning – she turned her radio up full blast and … Continue reading