Member-only story
The Tao of Spinning
An Olympic Adventure in Consciousness
I’m sure many cheered fifteen-year-old Kamila Valieva on, as she leapt and spun her way into Olympic history. What artistry! And, so young, we say. Will what is now her past inform her future? Or will this achievement open fresh possibilities?
I watched the highlights, so my admiration was not held in her realtime, but in mine. This is the way of life, as Gaia spins through the multi-verse.
One of my best friends wanted to be a figure skater. I spent my summers in nature. She spent hers at skating camp. This was back when the ability to trace perfect shapes {figures} onto a patch of ice counted more than one’s ability to leap into the air and rotate 2, or 3, or now, 4 times, before landing on a perfectly bent knee on the appropriate edge, with perfect extension. Wobbles need not apply. Sprains and strains are to be ignored. That’s a lot of ‘perfects’ to nail over and over again.
I can’t imagine that the concentration it takes to trace perfect figures on a small patch of ice with no extraneous markings is any less demanding than that of a perfect jump or spin. I tried once. It was hilarious. My friend managed not to laugh, scooting off to her next ballet-for-skaters class, as I picked myself up and dusted off what the Zamboni had left behind.
