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 by the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more closes
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit 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.
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 a 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 food for the whole wide world
MAY YOU NEVER TAKE ONE SINGLE BREATH FOR GRANTED
So breath out and breath 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
I HOPE YOU STILL FEEL small WHEN YOU STAND BESIDE THE OCEAN
If you're ever lying on the 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
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 care 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.
chance (n.): a coin with two sides that one tosses
into the air as many times as one wants.
The odds remain the same.
It's risky breathing, let alone needing,
trusting, reaching out. Life is the leap of faith,
the bold declaration of
Hope.
[attention: this is really big stuff, this is the crux of the whole adventure]
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're forgiven,
Or else you can't move on.
And if you don't move on,
You'll surely end up....
Bitter [see next]
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
Heaven (n.): (1) a place somehow high above the clouds,
yet deep inside your soul; (2) a place of complete peace,
of total and utter happiness; (3) a place that is greater than
the sum of everything you will ever be, or could imagine to be;
(4) a place we all want to get to, but just not yet...
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 up, 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 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
Amen
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.
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