“I Hope You Dance…”
Written by: MARKEZZACKUI
Photo by: Linaji
“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 chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance…” – Lee Ann Womack, “I Hope You Dance.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of country music is the stigma that I allowed myself to buy into. That stigma basically says that this music is always sad and depressing. Today, I know for certain that a statement like that couldn’t be further from the truth. The evidence is with a song that has been a long time inspirational favorite by Lee Ann Womack entitled “I Hope You Dance”.
This is one song that reaches, touches, grabs and caresses every emotional fiber of my being. This song has kept me going on more than one occasion. Lee Ann Womack has a beautiful voice and the lyrics to this record make me pause and reflect on a very deep level.
A simple change in perception will allow us to see that we are always being given opportunities to enhance ourselves and our lives in general. We’re constantly “getting” opportunities…
One of the song lyrics, “I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,” hits home with me because many things are changing. I’ve had to let go of some of the people I knew and of some of those things which I thought I knew. This lyric reminds me that I’ll always have room to grow, that my ideas aren’t the only ideas, that my passion isn’t the only passion. It reminds me that it takes a multitude of talents and gifts to make this world go around. This song lyric reminds me to stay humble, do my best, and allow things to happen for me rather than forcing situations and having things happen to me. Standing next to the ocean in its literal sense reminds me of how small I am, yet it also reminds me of just how wide and far my vision stretches. It’s kind of the ultimate paradox and so true for all of us.
“And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance…”
The two key words in this lyric, at least to me, are “get” and “hope”. It’s very easy to complain and allow ourselves to get sidetracked with what’s not going right. However, a simple change in perception will allow us to see that we are always being given opportunities to enhance ourselves and our lives in general. We’re constantly “getting” opportunities, whether it be “getting” the chance to show compassion for the physically challenged while in the Safeway line or we “get” the chance to show leadership by not following what appears to be popular and staying true to what we believe or how we “get” the chance to be human and sit around the house doing very little all day and maybe watch some side-busting comedy from Mo’nique or John Witherspoon.
This song lyric reminds me to stay humble, do my best, and allow things to happen for me, rather than forcing situations, and having things happen to me…
All one needs to do is visit a nearby graveyard or check the obituary page of your local newspaper to realize how many people would trade places with you right now, this very moment… to “get” another shot at life… to “get” another chance to dance… because with every passing minute of everyday, there’s always hope!
