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The Waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I cannot go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree, but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
--Theodore Roethke
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Joy's Updates - Straight from the Horse's Mouth.
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Monday, January 21, 2008
The Hobby Industry and Venn Diagrams
A friend and I went to the Nashville Convention Center Sunday to watch a ballroom dancing competition, Nashville Starz Dance Spectacular. This is my first one to attend, and I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. It made me realize how much the celebrities have to learn and how hard they work on Dancing with the Stars. The professionals on there choreograph the dances according to their partner's strengths and emphasize presentation. They are, after all, entertaining the audience as well as trying to perform the dances correctly for the judges. For that reason, I'm glad the audience votes count half and that the judges' votes count half.
But back to the dancing competition ... As I mentioned, I learned quite a bit about it from the parents of one of the competitors sitting next to me. Linda learned things from the people beside her, but she also used to dance professionally. There can be substantial prize money in these competitions. It also costs a lot for the costumes, shoes, hair, jewelry, training, lodging, transportation, etc. So money is spent and earned by quite a few people.
All of that made me think about how people get caught up in various interests to different degrees. What makes the difference is how many people watch you participate or the size of your pond. For example, sports, acting, dancing, car racing, role-playing games, fashion, re-enactments, and many more can be hobbies which become professions that generate many more professions which support, judge, critique, and supply clothes, accessories, gear, and services. An athlete can play football with friends or on a school team or be in the Super Bowl. An actor could perform in community theater or win an Oscar. No one could see hobbiests play poker, knit, scrapbook, run, work out, play music, paint, play tennis, build models, or whatever they do, or they could be famous in their circle. What's interesting is how no one outside their circle knows who they are or cares unless the circle overlaps others or is large enough to have a big audience. Even then, unless people care about that particular activity, they won't know the participants.
Each hobby/profession has rules and regulations that have to be learned and followed. As it becomes a profession, the rules are stricter. I haven't worked out all the details of this, but thinking about things this way puts them in perspective. It all depends on how interested any of us are in an activity and how we became involved in them - ourselves, our children, our parents, our spouses, our significant others. This isn't a huge epiphany but just interesting to me.
By going to the dancing competition, I learned who some of the best dancers and teachers in the country are. Otherwise, I would have no idea. I googled when I got home and found out more about them and the people who design costumes, shoes, and accessories. There were vendors at the competition which reminded me of the vendors who were at the conferences I attended when I taught in the gifted program. We had our own stars and people who provided materials and gave presentations. It's all reative, isn't it?
2:51:00 PM
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