Learning to Dance

There exists this idea, among those who have a lot, that having only a little is a burden the poor carry with heavy hearts. I have seen some cases where this is the truth. Yet, spend any amount of time among these people, that exceeds the time it takes you to roll up your car window as they approach, and you will know the opposite to be the overwhelming truth.

I was doing some work in a town about 45 minutes away from my own, when I found myself in an open market, where those who wish to, can sell their produce and wares. For many, this is their only income, and there's only so much to be made when there's only so much to sell. It is there I took this photograph:

I was walking around with camera in hand when this shop owner spotted me. We made eye contact, and then, without saying a word, he broke out in dance. A thing so out of my frame of reference that it took me a few seconds to realize what it is he wanted me to do, and when I finally did, I took about 20 photos of him. He was loving it.

This is not the act of a burdened man.

In fact, it was here, surrounded by what I mistook for poverty, that I found myself challenged by a freedom I couldn't explain. A freedom that would see it's subjects break into dance on a whim.

Truth be told, I haven't quite been the same since this encounter.