The last topic Bateson discussed, in our study this semester, was Changeability and Beauty. I feel a close kinship with both these concepts, coming from the artistic dance world. Dance is changeability. Dance is beauty. When I think of beautiful, the first thing that comes into my mind, unlike many of my peers, is not a celebrity or a pretty face. It is an anguished, tearful, soulful contraction starting from the very core of the dancer's body and soul. beauty is taking that pain and sorrow and breathing, against all odds, with determination and purpose to extend the line. to break free of that binding contraction. without this changeability, dance is anguish, or dance is shallow. If dance stays extended, it shows no root and no foundational emotion. If dance stays contracted, it shows stubbornness and fear, unwillingness to change, and thus it stays awkward and ugly. It misses its golden opportunity. I believe this is precisely what Bateson spoke of.
Reflection 3