# 34

Are we happy because we sing or do we sing because we're happy? Do you really listen to the lyrics of the songs as you drive down the highway? Many of the songs we listen to are filled with meaningful lyrics.

Today I challenged my basketball team to live the lyrics of Lee Ann Womack's, I Hope You Dance. We are preparing for the first round of the Georgia HS State Basketball tournament. This team wasn't given much of a chance to succeed. The team was short on size (our tallest player being 6'1"), and short on experience (only one starter back from the 2000-2001 team). But I had a feeling about this team. People were selling them short. We talked about getting ready for the tournament, both mentally and physically. Then I read them the lyrics to I Hope You Dance.

I Hope You Dance
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 by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give fate 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
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth taking
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on theirs and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance

By Lee Ann Womack

I followed that with the lyrics from Life's A Dance, (Sung by John Michael Montgomery and written by Allen Shamblin and Steve Seskin). The lyrics are:

Life's a Dance

When I was fourteen I was falling fast,
For a blue-eyed girl in my home-room class.
Trying to find the courage to ask her out,
Was like trying to get oil from a water spout.
And what she would've said I can't say,
I never did ask and she moved away.
But I learned something from my blue-eyed girl:
Sink or swim, you've got to give it a whirl.

Life's a dance you learn as you go:
Sometimes you lead; sometimes you follow
Don't worry 'bout what you don't know.
Life's a dance you learn as you go.

The longer I live, the more I believe,
You have to give if you want to receive.
There's a time to listen, a time to talk;
And you might have to crawl even after you walk.
Had sure-things blow up in my face.
Seen the long-shot win the race.
Been knocked down by the slamming door,
Picked myself up and came back for more.

Life's a dance you learn as you go:
Sometimes you lead; sometimes you follow.
Don't worry 'bout what you don't know.
Life's a dance you learn as you go.

In the words of Robin Williams’s character in Dead Poets Society:
Carpe, Carpe Diem: Seize the Day lads. Seize the day!

Contact Tom at: tomhughes@motivationNmore.com

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