Overflowing

The other day, The Boy, Ms. Wellspring and I shared a wonderful sushi dinner with some new friends visiting from New Zealand that The Boy met at MacWorld.

These charming, bright young men recently started their own company, Polar Bear Farm, which creates applications for the new love of my life, the iPhone. The Boy, in his inimitable way, befriended these guys at MacWorld and then spent the day after the conference taking them on his special tour of San Francisco. Ms. Wellspring and I agreed that it's such a unique delight to meet and share with people from other countries.

Over the course of dinner, I learned three new things.

1. That McDonald's in New Zealand serve lamb chops (Eva! Let's go!);
2. That New Zealand's politicians receive campaign funding from the government, so political campaigns are never centered around raising money; and
3. That when you order sake at a good Japanese restaurant, the sake is poured to overflow into a little wooden box and that generosity is to wish the person abundance in their life (thank you, Ms. Wellspring, for explaining that to me).

***

The reminder about abundance came up for me again yesterday in Ney's class. Ney's presence and ease with students, and the manner of his teaching reminded me of that sake flowing into the glass and over the glass and into the lacquer box. Everyone was having such a good time learning and laughing and enjoying themselves. There isn't that stress that you feel in some classes, the pressure to learn and the frustration of not getting it. We never have that in his class.

What happens is that a feeling of generosity and openness and fun is created, and then that spills over into the milonga afterwards. Ney not only teaches us how to dance but how to enjoy each other. That may be an even greater gift than the dance itself.

***

There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them. ~Vicki Baum

Photo from flickr.