Source:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/goodnight_london/3984244019

As I walked in, I could hear the incomprehensible noise; just a cacophony of disharmony. It made absolutely no sense to my ears. A constant attack of shrills and screams. Who in their right mind would willingly listen to this? I thought it more akin to the psychological torture conducted on prisoners.

Then I saw the dancing, again this seemed wrong to me. My eyes were bewildered when they could glean no pattern, no synchronicity. All they saw were random motions failing to mimic the intended purpose.

The first thing I noticed was that they weren’t all dancing to the same tempo. I admit, the music made no sense to me but I would imagine that if they were all fans there’d be at least some semblance of kinship in their movements. One gentleman in a corner was swaying back and forth as if he was being awashed by the gentlest of melodies and moved by its current. But the young lady next to him, who I would guess to be his significant, appeared to be in the arms of passion and enthralled by its possession with her limbs flailing uncontrollably. As my eyes devoured this scene of people purportedly dancing to the same music yet sharing no discernible rhythm, I caught a glimpse of my friend- the one who had invited me to such confusion.

She was standing at the top bar looking down at this mockery of music and dancing. When she saw me gazing up she gestured me to join her. As I approached I could tell she was enjoying herself, though, to my relief, not dancing. But when I stood next to her, her demeanor changed and a slight concern began to etch on her face– I suppose she saw my discomfort and confusion to where she had invited me.

“You’re only confused because you missed the beginning.” she said.

I tried to interject with my valid insights, but she simply put up her hand and firmly said “close your eyes”

After a minute of staring at each other, I relented and closed my eyes.

“Forget the madness and the incoherence. Forget everything else and listen for the simplest one. It’s the most consistent rhythm”

She paused, giving me the opportunity to find it.

I tried to look for something, anything, in this madness that could be described as ‘simple’. When I concluded to myself it to be an impossible feat, my friend interjected “don’t look too hard for it, let it come to you”

Almost, instantly I found it.

I practically felt it through my entire body, slow and almost pulsating. I was overcome by an irresistible urge gently enticing me to sway along.

As if sensing my achievement, she continued “Good. Now try holding on to it while you look for more. But each time you find another, add it to your sense of the others without losing the previous discoveries…..if you’re able” she added.

She knows me too well, practically goading me with that last bit.

“Do you understand?”  She asked.

I nodded.

“Ok, with your eyes still closed, find as many as you can.”

I initially began searching half-heartedly, but recalling her challenge I sought more earnestly.  Eventually, I found fourteen others, each more difficult to find than the last. There were a few times through my search that I became lost, but I always followed what she had told me and began anew. The chase was exhilarating. I could never guess what I would discover next; from fast to slow, sweet to sour. Sometimes producing what felt like real shocks other times sedately calming. But what was most amazing was how the addition always complemented the complexity, never distracting from the ephemeral completeness of the arrangement. The assured surprise was intoxicating.

After I had sensed the fourteenth one, my friend continued giving her instructions as if there was no pause.

“…now, while holding to all fourteen…..”

How did she know I found fourteen?

“…open your eyes and look down.”

I don’t know how long my search took, but when I looked down it was a completely different atmosphere. It was as if I was transported to another location. What were once absurd movements now had a rhythm and harmony. I looked at the corner for the couple I had noticed earlier; their movements finally clear to me, each sensing and dancing to a different vibration.  After a few more moments of watching, I began to distinguish what an individual could sense. Each person was incorporating the different rhythms into their movements, almost as if unable to ignore what they sensed — from those following the first to those few following all fourteen.  There were several others whose movements eluded me, which I can only surmise meant they were sensing something beyond the fourteen I could.

Pulling myself away from this mesmerizing scene, I looked over to my friend and asked her why she wasn’t dancing.

“Oh, I am just listening to the lyrics.”

Mystified, I turned to look at her questioningly. And she simply smiled.