Winter Sun

The sun was shining, but it still felt like winter.

Today unfolded slowly — the kind of gentle day that carries no great expectations. That was, of course, until an old friend appeared out of nowhere.

I hadn’t seen her in nearly two years. Suddenly she was back in town with her dance students and, for reasons still unclear to me, thought it would be a good idea to film TikTok dance videos.

Now, I know many things. One of them is that I cannot dance.

But when greeted with a kind smile and an enthusiastic request, I find it very hard to say no.

And so we began.

She slipped effortlessly into teacher mode. I slipped just as naturally into student mode — a familiar position these days. The arrangement was perfect, if only our dancing talents were equally matched.

I did my best. My best looked nothing like the reference video we were trying to recreate.

But we laughed.

Actually, to be honest, we mostly laughed at me.

There was something refreshing about it — stepping so far outside my comfort zone that there was no room for ego. No room for comparison. Just movement, music, and the simple joy of not taking yourself too seriously.

Another unexpected day at the Kung Fu school.

It was good to see an old friend. Good to be reminded that life doesn’t always need to be intense, disciplined, or deeply reflective.

Sometimes it just needs to be a little ridiculous.

Dinner awaits, and an early night before what will no doubt be a challenging week of training.

But I suspect nothing this week will be as confronting as making TikTok dance videos.