TIPS FOR MOVING WELL THROUGH LIFE

SOMETHING ABOUT THE NATURE OF GRACE seems to elude fixed meaning. It encompasses so much and can seem so difficult to attain. It is visible and intangible; it is rooted in movement, but it can exist without movement, in stillness and silence and nonjudgmental acceptance. Distilling it further, at the heart of grace is ease. Defying gravity, smoothing your actions, reducing friction. Releasing your gifts to the world. Lightening the burdens of others.

Ease, however, is not always easy to master. It is a dynamic practice. With that in mind, consider these points:

1. Slow down and plan. There’s no way to be graceful when you’re rushing around haphazardly.

2. Practice tolerance and compassion. This goes along with slowing down. Take time to listen and understand.

3. Make room for others—on the sidewalk, at the bus stop, in a coffee shop, during a business meeting, and in your life.

4. Strive to make things easy for people, even in small ways.

5. Make things easy for yourself. Be easily pleased. Accept compliments, take a seat on the bus if someone offers it to you, embrace any kindness that comes your way. This is graciousness, and it is a gift for someone else. You are giving another person the gift of being graceful.

6. Lighten your load. Shed painful shoes, disencumber yourself of heavy purses, backpacks, and briefcases. Let the bad stuff go, physically and emotionally.

7. Take care of your body. The more you move, the better you’ll move. And the better you’ll feel.

8. Practice extreme noticing. Look for grace where you least expect it.

9. Be generous. It’s a lovely thing to anticipate and fulfill someone’s hopes.

10. Enjoy. Raise a glass, as Lionel Barrymore did in the movie Grand Hotel, “to our magnificent, brief, dangerous life—and the courage to live it!”

Margot Fonteyn, at ease in the world.