I went square dancing last night and it is a particularly wholesome experience. It occurred to me that square dancing is also a spiritual activity. On the surface, the dancers, groups of four couples (eight people), are teams that are just trying to follow directions. They\u2019ve learned the calls, but they\u2019re just complex enough so that one is liable to forget what should be done when the caller says something like \u201ceight-chain-four\u201d or something. There are about a hundred calls, and more as you progress.<\/p>\n
Of course you make mistakes, and that\u2019s what seems to be the spiritual part. The game is to forgive yourself and let others forgive you. Others make mistakes, too, and so there\u2019s a challenge to maintain a cheerful, reassuring attitude. The temptation, based on growing up in the USA in the middle of the 20th century, is either to become overly apologetic, paralyzed with shame, try too hard to get it right, feel blame towards others when they make mistakes, and the whole complex of everyday mild neurosis. It\u2019s a spiritual exercise to return again and again to the innocence of friendship and letting-go.<\/p>\n
Why does the caller make you make mistakes? Well, if he or she calls \u201ctoo easy,\u201d it\u2019s not a challenge. It\u2019s like staying at the beginner level. If s\/he calls \u201ctoo hard,\u201d more than, say, a third of the squares \u201cbreak down\u201d in confusion. So the challenge for the caller is to work out a smooth series of calls that stretch but don\u2019t break down too much. And the game for the dancers is to rise to the challenge and not feel too bent out of shape if occasionally you forget how to do a certain maneuver.<\/p>\n