In her bestseller The Invitation, Oriah wrote about the challenge of finding and voicing our soul's longing. In this follow-up, she also includes a prose poem which is then explored in each chapter. Here the emphasis is on finding ways to live that are consistent with our longing. The music is playing, and it beckons us to dance, but many of us are too unsure of ourselves and frightened about what others will think. In order to truly move into the deep rhythms of our lives, we have to make the intention "to live who we really are."
In the first chapter, Oriah salutes the presence of the Great Mystery which is in, with, under, and through all things. She is right when she condemns our propensity for separating ourselves from others or drawing a line in the sand distinguishing "us" from "them." All of us are struggling to be human and we cannot afford to keep anyone outside of our heart. One of the qualities of a good dancer is paying close attention to what is going on within and around us. So, it is too, with us in our everyday life.
"Grace is the opportunity to be happy that we do not earn," writes Oriah. This truth comes in handy when we "hit the wall" with our addictions, compulsions, and habitual behaviors. Surrender to the Great Mystery is the best strategy for dealing with these hurtles.
Oriah includes exercises throughout the book. We liked the ones on being aware of all the places love has taken us and on meditating on places where we are remembered. The stories told by the author and the poems she quotes are all part of the dance of shared solitudes and sacred emptiness. Oriah ends with a celebration of the spiritual value of slowing down and letting go.
