I hope you dance
August 8, 2004 | 12:00am
A small book had the above as its title; a book I found in my son’s drawer while I was airing his stuff. The title intrigued me because the art and motion of dancing have always given me a wonderful feeling of peace and freedom. It is when the spirit is lifted and the music brings you – in a cushion of clouds – to a special place where you can move in sweet abandon and you know that the world, the stars, the universe, are moving with you in complete and exhilarating harmony.
If you’ve seen the movie Scent of a Woman, you would have caught a glimpse of this impassioned experience. My husband does not grow tired of watching and rewinding the film to that frame where Al Pacino, with the assistance of a young college student, Cris O’Donnell, approaches a young woman to dance the tango. The moment the music fills the dance floor, I imagine every able man wanting to be Al Pacino as he glides through the floor leading the young woman to the steps of a passionate and indulgent dance. The scene is so enchanting that I can’t help but heave a big sigh and raise a toast to the heavens for such beauty of spirit.
It happened again in My Fair Lady where a young, obviously love-struck Eliza Doolittle, is unable to rest her weary head on her soft pillow because she could have danced all night in the arms of the man she secretly loves.
I saw this too, when my father took my mother’s hand and guided her to the steps of their favorite waltz and then push the envelope by switching to a bouncy fox trot or jitter bug.
What about when we whirled to the music of a hot boogie or shook our shoulders and hips to an infectious twist and then moved rhythmically to a rhumba or reggae? Sometimes, even without music, just by imagining it, we can hold our arms out and twirl and twirl with the wind gently brushing our face. That too, is dancing.
When dancing is used metaphorically, it can mean that boundless energy you possess to embrace life. The book says that if you can figure out a way to keep the energy and gumption (courage or bravery) and fire alive, you will always stay young.
And, where there’s youth, there’s hope
where there’s hope, there’s wonder
where there’s wonder, there’s faith where there’s faith, there’s chance
where there’s chance, there’s love
where there’s love, there’s music
and where there’s music, there’s dancing.
I think this small book was published because we sometimes can’t find the words to celebrate the prayers and fond wishes we want to exchange with one another – from a husband to a wife, a mother to a child, a father to a son, a sister to a sibling, from one friend to another. The words below are lifted from a country song. You would be amazed at how some songs can express one’s noble thoughts and feelings.
I suggest you find a quiet spot in your world where you can listen to the music in your heart. When you do, I hope you too, would get up and dance.
Lyrics by Mark D. Sanders & Tia Sillers
Performed by Lee Ann Womack
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leaves you empty-handed.
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance. . . I hope you dance
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances but they’re worth taking
Loving might be a mistake but it’s worth making
Don’t let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And if you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance. . . I hope you dance
Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder
Where those years have gone?
I hope you dance. . . I hope you dance. . . I hope you dance.
If you’ve seen the movie Scent of a Woman, you would have caught a glimpse of this impassioned experience. My husband does not grow tired of watching and rewinding the film to that frame where Al Pacino, with the assistance of a young college student, Cris O’Donnell, approaches a young woman to dance the tango. The moment the music fills the dance floor, I imagine every able man wanting to be Al Pacino as he glides through the floor leading the young woman to the steps of a passionate and indulgent dance. The scene is so enchanting that I can’t help but heave a big sigh and raise a toast to the heavens for such beauty of spirit.
It happened again in My Fair Lady where a young, obviously love-struck Eliza Doolittle, is unable to rest her weary head on her soft pillow because she could have danced all night in the arms of the man she secretly loves.
I saw this too, when my father took my mother’s hand and guided her to the steps of their favorite waltz and then push the envelope by switching to a bouncy fox trot or jitter bug.
What about when we whirled to the music of a hot boogie or shook our shoulders and hips to an infectious twist and then moved rhythmically to a rhumba or reggae? Sometimes, even without music, just by imagining it, we can hold our arms out and twirl and twirl with the wind gently brushing our face. That too, is dancing.
When dancing is used metaphorically, it can mean that boundless energy you possess to embrace life. The book says that if you can figure out a way to keep the energy and gumption (courage or bravery) and fire alive, you will always stay young.
And, where there’s youth, there’s hope
where there’s hope, there’s wonder
where there’s wonder, there’s faith where there’s faith, there’s chance
where there’s chance, there’s love
where there’s love, there’s music
and where there’s music, there’s dancing.
I think this small book was published because we sometimes can’t find the words to celebrate the prayers and fond wishes we want to exchange with one another – from a husband to a wife, a mother to a child, a father to a son, a sister to a sibling, from one friend to another. The words below are lifted from a country song. You would be amazed at how some songs can express one’s noble thoughts and feelings.
I suggest you find a quiet spot in your world where you can listen to the music in your heart. When you do, I hope you too, would get up and dance.
Performed by Lee Ann Womack
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leaves you empty-handed.
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance. . . I hope you dance
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances but they’re worth taking
Loving might be a mistake but it’s worth making
Don’t let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And if you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance. . . I hope you dance
Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder
Where those years have gone?
I hope you dance. . . I hope you dance. . . I hope you dance.
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