Day 91: What if?

#91 What if?

The one person (me) version, asked and answered

What if everyone I love and respect leaves the city?
For a long time I've thought that I would live in this city for the rest of my life. Now I wonder what that will look like. As of now, I'm privileged to have a high paying part time job that allows me to live in a studio apartment in San Francisco and spend the rest of my time doing art related stuff. (And ok, also napping and seeing friends and watching Netflix, etc.) This is lucky. Very lucky. But, when the city is drained of artists and wonderful weirdos who are less lucky, or who have just made different choices about how to balance work and life and art, what do I do? Or better question: how do I help stop that from happening so I don't have to answer this question.

What if art and movement practice lived in public spaces?
Sometimes it does. And it's like, yes, this belongs here. This is what actually creates the place.
Sometimes it doesn't. This question came up for me again a couple of days ago when I danced for ten minutes in a parking lot, and felt a strong sensation that I didn't belong. That possibly I was doing something wrong. But I'm thinking that it lives in public spaces if we make it and do it in public spaces and just stake our claim. Not, this is mine, but this is ours. We belong here.

What if I always approached dance-making as a practice rather than a product?
I think I might be happier. But perhaps would feel even less validated by society than I currently do. Would dance-making be a hobby at that point? How different is that? Is it a problem?

What if I stopped producing shows?
Ugh. See above.

What if I die next week?
Well, then for me, nothing. But maybe I would be doing things differently right now. But not SO differently. Yesterday I took dance class and saw an improv show and celebrated a friend's birthday. That's not such a bad day in my final week of life. I probably wouldn't go to work next week, though. I'd go out dancing. I'd go outside. I'd spend as much time as possible with friends and family and my love. I might meditate. I'm not sure about that.

What if everything is slowly falling apart?
What if it is? Now that I think about answering this, I don't think it's such an interesting question.

What if things can really change for the better?
Then we're responsible for working to make that happen.

What if we didn't have bodies?
I once went on a date with someone who thought that in our lifetime, we'd evolve, through use of technology, into pure consciousness. Or something like that. I found this idea a little bit interesting and not at all appealing. I am so attached to having a body. We're animals. I don't think I want to be a consciousness without my body. Half the time, it's using my body that rescues me from my own mind.


The crowd-sourced version, unanswered:

What if more people took chances in life and made changes for the better of love, compassion, and the universe of all living creatures?...

Sleep could be stored like money in a bank?

What if I could see my own eyes?

What if I was holding 4,000 helium balloons?

What if We all had the ability to fly at will.

What if these walls could actually talk?

What if humans loss the ability to take a life.

What if We can change the suicide nightmare the planet is dreaming by mistake?

What if money didn't exist!

What if there was no friction?

What if I gave up? Right now?

What if you could get a life transplant?

What if I could fly!?

What if your feet were made out of cherry-lime jello???

What if you had permission to do exactly what you wanted? Right now?

What if we had wings.

What if we all actually just said what we meant?

What if the Bay Area wasn't so insanely expensive?

I want answers!