"I look toward heaven with my arms open wide"

I got this email today about one of my pieces. This person came to see Mission in the Mix this past weekend and was moved enough to write me an email. The piece is called "I look toward heaven with my arms open wide'. I felt so thankful that someone really appreciated this piece because it means so much to me. I omitted the persons name because I was not sure if they wanted this email to be public. I also wrote my response to the sender. ...read on....
with love and respect
Micaya


Dear Micaya,

I attended Mission in the Mix this past Sunday to see my friend perform and I am so happy that I did! The energy was wonderful, the happiness contagious, the music uplifting and the passion... infinite!

For me, the piece that touched me the deepest to have me in tears during the performance was "I look towards heaven with my arms open wide". As you introduced the piece, I opened my heart and as I watched I felt you must have experienced a big loss at some point in your life, you lost, you grieved, you were numb... and then life returned.

I, myself experienced a lost in the last month that crumbled the ground underneath me, dropped the sky from above me, abandoned me a in a doldrum and stripped me of anything and everything I could hold onto for security and stability... all I had was myself and that too, in ruins. I closed up and have remained in a fetal position since then... in pain and grieving and out of breath. Getting to the dance performance was like dragging feet filled with lead and a heart that was closed.

As I watched the performance, I could feel my heart in pain but also slowly opening up out of curiosity, I was able to relate to every move, every expression, every musical note and song and it truly touched me. The deepest was when your central character sat up and looked at the last pair of shoes that were hers...

... that's where I am right now... I am still getting up, I fall, I get up, I fall, I want to feel safe... but I have now begun to see that last pair of shoes and one day I will put them back on and live and love with an open heart.

And I hope they will bring me to your dance classes for I want to find expression through dance!

So, just wanted to say thank you for a performance that moved me. Sorry for the long note, but it has been on my heart and mind to let you know that that was my favorite piece.

Thank you.
________



Dear ----
Thank you so much for this email. It made me so emotional to know that you could relate to it and that you understood and appreciated it so much. I have been blessed to see my darkest time come full circle and now I am at the other side shining and beaming. I dont think I could have ever imagined that this day would be as beautiful as it is and I cherish it with all my heart. Im glad that you got some strength and hope (even if just a glimmer) from the piece.
I hope to see you in class very soon too!
Much love and respect-
Micaya