{"id":5380,"date":"2026-04-21T08:20:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/?p=5380"},"modified":"2026-04-21T08:20:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:20:38","slug":"center-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/center-point\/","title":{"rendered":"Center Point"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast<\/em>,\u00a0click here<\/a>
\u00a0
One of America’s most famous musical compositions\u00a0has a powerful spiritual core.

In 1942, dancer and choreographer Martha Graham approached the composer Aaron Copland and asked him to write a ballet with “an American theme.”

What he created was Appalachian<\/em> Spring<\/em>, an uplifting composition that more than a few\u00a0music critics have hailed as the most American piece of music ever written.

The ballet tells the story of a young couple who, in the middle of the 1800s, are struggling to build a new home and a new life in the New World.\u00a0It is not easy.\u00a0

But Copland’s stirring themes and Graham’s vibrant\u00a0dancing assured audiences that Americans \u2013 at that very moment\u00a0in the midst of World War II \u2013 could prevail against any obstacles.

What would be the secret of our success?

Would it be technology?\u00a0Brilliance?\u00a0Patriotic fervor?

Copland went an entirely different way.\u00a0He anchored his music on a hymn that had emerged from the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, a religious community better known as the Shakers.\u00a0The group practiced a humble, shared\u00a0way of life which was exemplified by the simplicity of their architecture and furniture.\u00a0\u00a0

The tune is called ‘Tis a Gift to be Simple<\/em>.\u00a0Other church groups have since transformed it into\u00a0a song called Lord of the Dance<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0

Not ringing a bell?\u00a0Then check out the joyful melody<\/a> in this segment from Appalachian Spring.<\/em>

Imagine Graham and her dancers confidently looking toward the future that God alone can provide.\u00a0\u00a0

Here are the tune’s lyrics\u00a0that inspired Copland:

‘Tis a gift to be simple, ’tis a gift to be free
‘Tis a gift to come down where I ought to be
And when I am in the place just right
I will be in the valley of love and delight
When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend I will not be ashamed
To turn, to turn will be my delight
‘Til by turning, turning, I come ’round right.<\/em>
\u00a0
So much of life is turning.\u00a0

Every 12 months we\u00a0turn a year older.\u00a0We may turn to a new job, a new challenge, a new relationship.\u00a0One day we might turn a corner and out of the blue hear news that shakes us to the\u00a0core.\u00a0Trusted friends might turn against us.\u00a0\u00a0

But just as a skilled dancer can\u00a0pirouette effortlessly, spinning round and round an unmoving center point, our “turning, turning” will bring us “round right” \u2013 if, that is, we choose the right center.
\u00a0
A center is an emotional and spiritual home base.\u00a0It\u2019s the place where one\u2019s soul is at peace.\u00a0The point that doesn\u2019t move when everything else around is in motion or seems to be falling apart.
\u00a0
It\u2019s fairly easy to tell if your soul isn\u2019t centered.
\u00a0
Life feels not just busy \u2013 busyness is a constant for most of us \u2013 but hurried<\/em>.\u00a0Hurry is the overwhelming sense that I need to be somewhere else or get on with the next task, rather than slow down enough to experience the present moment.
\u00a0
You\u2019ll feel impatient.\u00a0And mildly irritated.\u00a0And increasingly desperate to control circumstances that quite frankly are beyond your control.
\u00a0
A soul without a center, unfortunately, always finds its identity in externals.
\u00a0
If my life isn\u2019t centered in God, I\u2019ll try to live as if my work, my appearance, my accomplishments, or my circle of friends will allow me to muddle through another day.
\u00a0
But if we choose, as our center point, the goodness and grace of God, life begins to feel very different.

We may “bow and bend” under life’s strain.\u00a0\u00a0

But our unmoving center point will allow us to face the future\u00a0unafraid.
\u00a0
As the Shakers might put it, that’s the simple Truth.
\u00a0

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here\u00a0One of America’s most famous musical compositions\u00a0has a powerful spiritual core. In 1942, dancer and choreographer Martha Graham approached the composer Aaron Copland and asked him to write a ballet with “an American theme.” What he created was Appalachian Spring, an uplifting composition that more than a few\u00a0music critics have hailed as… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1102,1103,299],"class_list":["post-5380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-aaron-copland","tag-ballet","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5382,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5380\/revisions\/5382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}