This story was told by one of my coaching supervisors many years ago. Some of the details are now lost and the story feels more like a charming myth where life manifested itself in unusual and unexpected colours.
This is how it goes…
A woman (let’s call her Maria) in her sixties came to the coaching session. She was provoked by a strong promise from the coach to “help with any wish fulfillment”. “What are you? A Genie? “– she thought, and told him about her childhood dream to become a ballet dancer. Can you imagine how strong that dream was if she was still lamenting it after five decades? Maria’s childhood was not conducive to this dream fulfillment. She grew up in a working family with limited financial support and had to work very hard to succeed. And she did. By the time she went to the coach she was a top manager in a big company living a lifestyle of financial freedom. And what about the dream? When you are in your sixties, your childhood dreams look like lovely trinkets from a little memory box. Their time has long passed… Or maybe not?
Obviously, no one can become a ballet dancer when they are in that stage of their life. While talking to her coach, Maria was very honest with him and herself. Now when her children are grown-ups and she has her financial freedom and free time, the desire to be in the centre of a wondrous celebration of music, dance and graceful elegance came back again, stronger than ever. A burning desire of the heart! But the mind knew better…
The question from the coach ‘What do you actually know about this profession?’ gave the whole story a different direction. As it happened Maria never thought about the life and training of a professional ballet dancer. All she saw was the view of the stage from the theatre seat. She liked the idea to try and find out more about what’s behind the curtain.
Now, after each performance Maria would go backstage with the flowers to thank the dancers for their wonderful performance and, if she had a chance, talk to them about their experience, getting to know them better. Slowly, some of them became her friends, giving her an opportunity to see how hard they worked (sometimes beyond the highest level of exhaustion) to achieve the top level in their performances. Dance was the single meaning of their lives. Everything else was subordinated to its demands. Slowly, she realised that the attraction she felt was not to the profession itself, but the feeling of magic and excitement coming from the stage.
So, how did it end? Obviously, Maria didn’t become a ballet dancer. That doesn’t mean that her childhood dream wasn’t realised, however, albeit in a completely different way. She became a sponsor, supporting the ballet company in many different ways, experiencing happiness and fulfillment as a result. Ballet became a big part of her life.
The little girl’s dream to live in the magic world of dance came true.
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