I Hope You Dance

First, I wish you, the reader, a Happy New Year filled with growth, fulfilment, joy, good health and peace of mind!

Dance…

As for most of us, 2021 came with its highs and lows… I met so many wonderful people through my passion project ‘Tattoos and Conversations’ on IG and I’ve also never felt so alone as I did in the latter half of the year. I experienced a lot of mental anguish and kept a lot in my mind resigning to the fact that I may never be able to express truly what I would like to and to those persons who invoked those feelings.

Last night though, I decided to get dressed up for myself, listen to music and just dance. That’s it… and I did it alone. I brought to mind good memories, feelings and experiences and allowed myself to just feel the joy… it was a bit challenging at first, as your mind prefers to bring up other memories… perhaps those with a stronger emotional tie often linked to sadness. But I danced and I wore my only red dress that I got from Amazon a couple of years back on a whim (the price was right $20 USD). The colour red is said to bring good luck and lift your mood, I believe this, perhaps that’s why I own possibly close to 30 red lipsticks (not bragging!).

So, I set up my camera in our living room and took a couple of photos just to document this ‘feeling’. When I uploaded the photos and had a brief look through, the song ‘I Hope You Dance’ by Lee Ann Womack came to mind. I immediately looked up the lyrics and felt that this was no coincidence. I needed to read these lyrics and receive the message.

I will share some with you and know that I am also wishing this for you.

“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… 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 take that chance on whatever has been tugging on your heart strings, I hope you take that leap of faith and start that venture you’ve pushed at the back of your mind because of fear, I hope you look within and know that your are enough! You are more than enough and you were wonderfully and joyfully created and you deserve to be happy!

There was a time, and I still experience it sometimes, the fear of what others may think affected me deeply. I’ve held back on starting my photography business, posting photos of myself and some of my experiences because of fear of what others would think.

It stems from growing up having never felt beautiful, I always saw what I interpreted as the negative features of my appearance… it paralysed my from time to time. I also was very critical of my work. I stalled for at least 4 years in starting my photography business, I thought my work was not good enough and I envied how brave others were in just posting their work with no fear.

In my mid thirties however, I had to make a change. I thought it was now or never as time waits on no one. I launched my IG page and hoped for the best. I also experienced personal growth. I started to like what I saw in the mirror and it was much more than physical attributes. I started to pray more, was involved in a group that helped others and just opened myself to life in general.

I’m still a work in progress, but I am comfortable with the woman I am and will continue to work on my future version.

So as per usual, I was not sure of the direction of this post, but I know I wanted to share some of those lyrics with others, in the hope that if there was someone who was not feeling their best, know that I am rooting for you, you are not alone and you can always try again!

Dance!