I Hope You Dance Journal Read online

WE, MARK AND TIA, WOULD LIKE

TO DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO OUR FAMILIES.

COPYRIGHT © 2000 BY MARK D. SANDERS AND TIA SILLERS

INTRODUCTION COPYRIGHT © 2000 BY LEE ANN WOMACK

“I HOPE YOU DANCE” WORDS AND MUSIC BY MARK D. SANDERS AND TIA SILLERS © COPYRIGHT 2000

UNIVERSAL-MCA MUSIC PUBLISHING, INC., A DIVISION OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, INC.

AND ENSIGN MUSIC CORP. (BMI/ASCAP). INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT SECURED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. WRITTEN PERMISSION MUST BE SECURED FROM THE PUBLISHER

TO USE OR REPRODUCE ANY PART OF THIS BOOK, EXCEPT FOR BRIEF QUOTATIONS IN CRITICAL REVIEWS OR ARTICLES.

PHOTOS LICENSED THROUGH VINTAGESTOCK AND PHOTODISK.

LEE ANN WOMACK PHOTO © 2000, MCA NASHVILLE, A DIVISION OF UMG RECORDINGS, INC.

PUBLISHED BY RUTLEDGE HILL PRESS, A THOMAS NELSON COMPANY, P.O. BOX 141000, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37214.

DESIGN BY JACKSON DESIGN: DESIGN AND ART DIRECTION BY BUDDY JACKSON AND KARINNE CAULKINS | NASHVILLE, TN

ISBN: 1-4016-0222-3

PRINTED IN CHINA

05 06 07 08—5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

I HOPE YOU DANCE

I HOPE YOU NEVER LOSE YOUR SENSE OF WONDER

MAY YOU NEVER TAKE ONE SINGLE BREATH FOR GRANTED

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

NEVER SETTLE FOR THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE

AND WHEN YOU GET THE CHOICE TO SIT IT OUT OR DANCE ...

I REALLY 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 leave 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

Livin’ might mean takin’ chances but they’re worth takin’

Lovin’ might be a mistake but it’s worth makin’

Don’t let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter

When you come close to sellin’ out reconsider

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

And when 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

When I heard the lyric of “I Hope You Dance” the first time, my children came to mind immediately. These are the things I want for them in life: to feel small when they stand beside the ocean, to give faith a fighting chance, to give the heavens above more than just a passing glance. I remember thinking, “If they understand the meaning of this lyric when they’re grown, I’ll have done my job as their mother.”

I had nothing to do with the writing of this song or this book, but, thankfully, I’ve been asked to be a part of both. Mark and Tia have done a beautiful job-as our writers in Nashville are known to do-of putting into words the very things that the rest of us want and need to say but aren’t quite sure how. They are masters of their craft and I consider myself truly blessed to have been the vehicle to bring their song to so many millions of people.

LEE ANN WOMACK

THIS IS FROM ME TO YOU.

________________________

THIS IS THE TRUTH.

How many times have

my wishes

and my dreams

and my prayers

for you

hidden beneath my breath?

How many times have I looked at you,

heart in my throat,

hands in my pockets,

a smile on my face,

just wanting to say...

I HOPE YOU NEVER

LOSE YOUR SENSE

OF WONDER

WHAT IS HOPE?

What is hope?

To want? To desire?

To expect that what’s envisioned may indeed happen?

YES to all of the above.

Is hope that gut feeling that it’s

worth holding out

and hanging on for just a little longer?

ABSOLUTELY.

Is hope the core of the human condition?

CERTAINLY.

Can you have hope

without faith and humility and wonder?

THAT’S TOUGH.

Just the thought that there’s something bigger,

something truer, something totally surprising

out there waiting for us is...

priceless.

What would you be without hope

growing deep in your bones,

thriving in every inch of you?

NOTHING.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO HOPE?

EVERYTHING

Hope takes never

ceasing to be amazed...

Wearing

your soul on your sleeve...

Holding

your breath, waiting to hear

“I love you, too...”

Believing

that tomorrow could be better than today...

that you’ll get a second chance...

that you’ll make a difference...

that you matter.

YOU GET YOUR FILL TO EAT

BUT ALWAYS KEEP THAT HUNGER

Hunger is the wanting:

to see more

to feel more

to touch more

to crave, desire, search out, find, hold more.

And sometimes hunger hurts more.

But go on, go west, young man, young woman.

Plow the land,

plant the seeds,

grow the food for the whole wide world.

MAY YOU NEVER

TAKE ONE SINGLE

BREATH FOR GRANTED

SO BREATHE OUT AND BREATHE IN

(AND SOAK IT ALL UP)

GOD FORBID LOVE EVER

LEAVE YOU EMPTY-HANDED

But if it does,

may it leave you patient and stronger,

willing* and wiser, tender and tougher.

* WONDERFUL WORD CONTRIBUTED BY SOPHIE SANDERS, AGE 10, THEN

I HOPE YOU

STILL FEEL

SMALL

WHEN YOU

STAND BESIDE

THE OCEAN

If you’re ever lying on a beach with

80 billion* grains of sand beneath you,

700 thousand* ocean waves before you,

60 million* stars stretched out above you,

and you’re still not at all impressed,

I want you to think about this:

The light you see reflecting from the stars is over one million* years old.

WOW.

But then, just before you start to feel like a mere blip

in the gigantic scheme of things, please remember this:

Yes, you are small, but you’re also irreplaceable

and invaluable

and miraculous.

Those stars don’t have anything on you.

*ALL NUMBERS GROSSLY UNDERESTIMATED.

WHENEVER

ONE

DOOR CLOSES

I HOPE

ONE MORE

OPENS

DOORS

Holes in walls that offer us a way out or a way in.

Just putting your hand on the knob and seeing if it turns can

make you weak in the knees.

What if it’s locked?

What if it’s unlocked?

What if no one answers?

What if someone does?

What if the hinges creak and the heavy wood swings

open

and you’re suddenly standing at the threshold

of a brand new tomorrow?

What if your horizon is nothing but

blue clear skies?

What if it’s a raging storm?

What if?

What if?

What if?

PROMISE ME THAT

YOU'LL GIVE FAITH A

FIGHTING CHANCE

A PROMISE IS ALL ABOUT FAITH.

A PROMISE IS ONLY AS STRONG

as your own faith in your own self,

in your own god.

So when you swear,

in light of your strengths and in spite

of your weaknesses,

to struggle and follow through,

you

are doing a beautiful thing.

AND WHEN YOU GET THE

CHOICE TO SIT

IT OUT OR DANCE

I HOPE YOU

DANCE

LET THE MUSIC MOVE YOU,

LET THE MOMENT TAKE YOUR HAND,

LET IT LEAD YOU OUT INTO

THE MIDDLE OF THE DANCE FLOOR AND

EMBRACE YOU.

DIVE OFF THE HIGH BOARD,

RIDE WITH THE TOP DOWN,

THRIVE LIKE A WILDFLOWER,

AND SING

(WHO CARES WHAT YOU SOUND LIKE)

WITH A VOICE ALL YOUR OWN.

I HOPE YOU NEVER

FEAR THOSE MOUNTAINS

IN THE DISTANCE

LIFE

CHAPTER 23

MOUNTAINS AND OCEANS

SEEMS LIKE THERE’S ALWAYS ANOTHER OF ONE OR THE OTHER...

It’s crossing your fingers when the map doesn’t make sense, when the compass

doesn’t know truly north from truly lost; and it’s up to you–you and

your gut and your mettle, and your level of resilience, and your wealth of wisdom–

to persevere. To get to the other side.

To hope.

NEVER SETTLE

FOR THE PATH OF

LEAST RESISTANCE

(THAT’S TOO EASY. WHAT FOLLOWS IS TOO INTERESTING.)

LIVING MIGHT

MEAN TAKING

CHANCES,

BUT THEY'RE

WORTH TAKING

Ask Eve.

Evolve.

Take a chance, take a ticket,

take a fast train to the coast.

No guts, no glory.

It’s risky breathing, let alone needing,

trusting, reaching out. Life is the leap of faith,

the bold declaration of

Hope.

LOVING MIGHT

BE A MISTAKE,

BUT IT'S

WORTH MAKING

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.

YOU HAVE TO LOVE,

AND IF YOU DON’T GET LOVE RIGHT,

YOU HAVE TO MOVE ON

AND FORGIVE.

AND THEN YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER

THAT YOU’VE FORGIVEN,

OR ELSE YOU CAN’T MOVE ON.

AND IF YOU DON’T MOVE ON,

YOU’LL SURELY END UP. . .

BITTER.*

* SEE NEXT PAGE

DON'T

LET SOME

HELL-BENT

HEART

LEAVE

YOU BITTER

(AND DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU)

There are too many people too angry

at a world that isn’t

in the least bit angry at them.

WHEN YOU COME

CLOSE TO SELLING OUT,

RECONSIDER

You

(A HAIKU)

ONE WORTH SO MUCH

TO ME, TO US, TO LIFE AS SUCH.

A BOWL OF CHERRIES.

GIVE THE HEAVENS ABOVE MORE

THAN JUST A PASSING GLANCE

NO, NOT YET.

AND WHEN YOU GET THE

CHOICE TO SIT

IT OUT

OR DANCE ...

(AS YOU NOW WELL KNOW)

I HOPE

YOU

DANCE

I HOPE YOU DANCE BECAUSE

Time.

Time is a wheel.

Time is a wheel in constant motion

always

rolling us along.

Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder. . .

WHERE

THEIR

YEARS

HAVE

GONE

AH, YOUTH

Ah, youth...new skin, wide smiles,

clear eyes...the future so bright.

If only we could bottle it, sip it now and

again, and stay forever twenty-one,

forever ten, forever five.

I liked being five.

But I’d also like to think that time and age are like cousins–

they’re relative.

Who said you have to go by actual miles?

If you didn’t know how old you were, how old would you be?

(me, I’m sticking with five.)

I’ll even argue that you can bottle youth.

What you store it in is all up to you.

(I suggest your heart.)

If you can figure out a way to keep

the energy and gumption and fire alive,

you’ll 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 dancing.

SO IN MY HEART OF HEARTS

I HOPE YOU DANCE

I REALLY

HOPE YOU

DANCE

A MEN.

WAIT. . .

PROMISE ME ONE MORE THING:

If tomorrow you wake up feeling

unoriginal

or

frail-hearted

or

faithless

or

tired of this world

please

pick up this book and start back at page

ONE .

(OR JUST CALL ME.)

NO, IT ’S NOT THE END.

_____________________

IT ’S THE BEGINNING.

Mark D Sanders, I Hope You Dance Journal

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