THE MAY FESTIVAL

Joyful festivity, planning, preparation and hard work are strung together aspects of a whole, like pearls on a necklace.

An Intelligence deep inside each of us resonates to this truth. When we witness the purposeful labors and beauty of completion we feel a profound response. But experiencing it takes us to the Unified Field of work/play where Joy is a Special Wisdom.

The greatest cluster of endorphin transmitters in the human body is in the pre-frontal lobes where we generate new ideas and elaborate on them. This forebrain, is the orchestrator of the whole brain, calling on various centers' contributions to planning, design, creation, innovation, collaboration, etc. for completion of some project.

The only conclusion we can draw from the brain research of the past decade is that the way to activate our children’s greatest intelligence is by firing those endorphin transmitters through meaningful engagement that brings them joy.

The May Festival the other day was like the pearl necklace. The children had to work hard for three weeks to learn the patterns of the Maypole dance. The first weeks Nina had them practice dancing the patterns without the ribbons in the shade. But the last 7 days they held the ribbons of the May pole practicing several complex patterns.

By then the temperature had climbed and the hot sun beat down on them. But many remembered the process from the previous year, and had learned it was worth it. Some of the newer and younger ones stayed away the first days. Too much work. Too hot. And they couldn’t yet anticipate the end result.

We figured out a way to make even the practice days festive. We found the largest metal bowl we own and filled it with cold water, including a tray of ice cubes. Then we rolled up 20 white hand towels and soaked them in the icy cold water.

As the hot sun beat down on their heads, the dancers could see the metal bowl that awaited them on the picnic table in the shade. They danced on, shouting to the preparer of the bowl, “You are my favorite person today!”

When Nina ended the practice sessions, the dancers became runners through the prairie, and with a great shout headed for the bowl. Then there were exclamations of pleasure as they drenched their heads, faces and necks in the cool water.

The ones who didn’t practice were given towels also, but they didn’t enjoy them half as much. By the final sessions, even the reluctant younger ones were drawn in to the work/play process.

Of course, the real completion of the pearl necklace came Saturday, when they performed the dance to the rousing Irish music for an appreciative audience.

Next year the ones that hung back at first, will very likely realize that hot, tiring practices, cool wet towels, and rewarding performances go together.

The time has come to insert into our halls of learning the lost knowledge that truly rewarding human expression is both challenging and Joyful: For Joy is a special wisdom.