Why I Dance

People ask me all the time why I dance.

The answer isn't what most people expect.

I don't dance because I'm trying to burn calories.

I don't dance because I think I'm good at it.

I don't dance because I'm trying to entertain anyone.

I dance because...

for the very first time in my life...

dance introduced me to me.

Growing up, I became really good at hiding.

Hiding felt safe.

Drawing attention to myself didn't.

I wasn't the kid who danced in the living room.

I wasn't asking myself what I loved or what made me come alive.

I was trying to survive.

I knew God was with me.

Looking back, I know I didn't raise myself.

There was always something greater walking beside me.

But I didn't know what it felt like to be fully alive.

Then one semester at the University of Arizona...

everything changed.

I went to my first party.

Someone turned on the music.

And somehow...

I started dancing.

I can't explain it.

Something woke up.

For the very first time in my life...

I met Michelle.

Not the girl who was trying to stay safe.

Not the girl trying to disappear.

Me.

Life was moving through me.

Life wasn't something I was hiding from anymore.

I was experiencing it.

From that moment on, I danced every chance I got.

Even after I crashed my car and broke my ankle...

I hobbled into the clubs on crutches and danced anyway.

I wasn't there for the guys.

I wasn't there to drink.

I'd sip water all night and dance until the lights came on.

Because I had found something I never wanted to lose.

I had found me.

Then life changed again.

I fell in love.

I married my soulmate.

And somewhere along the way...

my dance slowly found its way into my pocket.

I didn't make that decision in a single moment.

It happened quietly.

Life got busy.

Marriage grew.

We didn't dance together.

And little by little, I stopped dancing.

Not because I stopped loving it.

Not because anyone told me I couldn't.

I simply stopped believing I was allowed to choose it just because it made me feel alive.

I brought it back out for weddings.

The rare moments when it felt like someone had handed me permission.

Then I'd carefully tuck it away again.

Then in May of 2024...

I attended DreamBuilder Live.

And something happened.

Not on the dance floor.

Inside me.

I realized something that changed my life forever.

I don't need a wedding.

I don't need an invitation.

I don't need permission.

I don't need an occasion.

Life itself is the invitation.

And if dancing is one of the ways Life expresses itself through me...

Then who am I to keep it hidden?

That's why you'll find me dancing every morning now.

Not because I'm trying to become someone else.

Because every morning...

I'm choosing not to hide again.

Every morning...

I'm choosing to let Life move through me.

Every morning...

I'm keeping a promise to the woman I met on that dance floor all those years ago.

The promise that I will never put my dance back in my pocket again.

The River Doesn't Ask Permission

Nature reminds me of this every single day.

The river doesn't ask permission before it flows.

The birds don't ask permission before they sing.

Wildflowers don't ask permission before they bloom.

Life expresses itself because that's what Life does.

Somewhere along the way...

Many of us learned to tuck pieces of ourselves away.

Not because we stopped loving them.

Because we forgot they mattered.

Or because we thought there would be time later.

Or because we were trying to keep the peace.

Dance happened to be mine.

Yours might be something completely different.

But I wonder...

What part of you has been waiting patiently in your pocket?

🌿 Sit With This...

We all have a dance.

Maybe yours isn't movement.

Maybe it's painting.

Writing.

Gardening.

Singing.

Adventure.

Creating.

Laughing until your stomach hurts.

Whatever it is...

Life placed it within you for a reason.

What have you tucked into your pocket...

that has been quietly waiting for you to remember?

🌲 Walk With Me...

One of the greatest joys of my work is watching people reconnect with the parts of themselves they thought were gone.

Not because they were lost.

Because they were waiting.

Waiting for permission.

Waiting for the right season.

Waiting to be remembered.

If your heart has been whispering that it's time to come alive again, I'd love to invite you to join me for my Virtual Treasure Hunt Vision Workshop.

Together we'll uncover the stories that have kept us small, reconnect with what makes us feel fully alive, and remember that the greatest treasure has never been outside of us.

It's always been within.

💜 Until next time... keep coming Back to You.