Changing Lives through Dancing by David Woodbury Arthur Murray Santa Monica
At 18 years old, I went to an Arthur Murray Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. I started off as a guest from a friend at my day job who was an Arthur Murray teacher at night.
My first lesson was amazing. Dancing felt so natural to me. I loved the lessons and I immediately enrolled on my Foundation and then Bronze programs. My teacher’s name was Marci Poza. She was a vision, a dream, a goddess to me. I had never met someone like her before in my entire life.
I had a knack for learning dancing and the moves, and the movement came naturally to me. But I really had to work hard at it. I was not a “natural” at memorizing. I worked very diligently to get better.
One day, my beautiful teacher, Marcie, said to me as I was struggling to get a pattern, “David, you’re are a slow forgetter”. I was absolutely stunned. I had never heard that statement before. She said that once I got a pattern or a sequence, that I never forgot it.
Her kind words have stayed with me for all these 47 years. To this day, I have never heard anyone ever say that again, and I have never read that in a book. Yet, I have said that hundreds of times to others who were struggling to get ahead with their dancing. I have seen their faces lighten up and have seen hope in their eyes. Yes, I am a slow forgetter even until today. I must do something over and over again to get it right. Then I have it forever. My magic is in the notes I have taken and kept over the years and I refer to them whenever needed to remember something.
My fingers do not want to type what Marci could have said to me. I have heard enough negative feedback to last a lifetime. Whenever I feel like I’m just not getting something, I turn my struggle into action and I practice, making myself learn and perfect what I’m working on. I always say to myself, “Remember David, you’re a slow forgetter. You’ll get this!” and I always do.
Life is hard enough, so we all don’t need negative self-talk. I try to say to myself “You’ll get this” “It will get better” “You’re a good learner”. The great meals in 30 minutes cook, Rachael Ray, always uses the acronym, K.I.S.S., Keep It Super Simple. And I try to live my life that way now. The way I speak, cook, love, worship, train, write, exercise, I keep it all very simple.
As I’m going into my 68th year on the planet, I want a peaceful life. As for forgetting, as time goes on, I do forget…I forget the bad times, the hurts, the trials. I remember the glorious moments and all the wonderful memories. Perhaps a bit of forgetfulness is not so bad on one’s life after all!
Stay happy. Never give up. It will get better.
Thanks for reading,
David Woodbury