Inspired to Dance!

This week at our Get it Back Give it Back team meeting,  we shared highlights from our week.  It was very inspiring to hear from the participants in our team (Stephanie and I are their personal trainers in this weight loss and health program that Global Fitness sponsors - www.globalfitnesskelowna.com) who started to make significant changes to improve their health.  Things such as not drinking or even sniffing wine all week.  Being active 7 days in a row!  Removing all the sugar and white flour foods out of their diets or doing a cupboard sweep and taking all the temptations like chocolate, chips, pop, cookies etc... out of their reach. 
For me, my chosen highlight was Saturday morning when my son Carter (who is 10yrs old) just out of the blue went running into the snow downtown and started to twirl around with his arms out like he was flying... it hit me as one of the 'dance like nobody is watching' moments and I immediately grabbed my phone and took a photo.  He was so happy and smiling and just care-free...

What I didn't realize in that moment was there was going to be a much more significant meaning behind Carter's spontaneous action...
After spending a great family day together, I had plans to attend a celebration of life for a very close and dear friend of mine... Heather Tommy.  Heather was one of the first athletes on the P.A.C.E. scene.  Her vibrant smile, friendliness and outlook on life was contagious.  We instantly became friends.  This past September we lost Heather in her battle with cancer.  I was fortunate enough to see her the morning before she passed, as I was away in Europe when she got really sick again and flew back the evening before she passed.  Well, to make a long story short... that evening at her celebration there was a beautiful slide show presented which did such an incredible job of capturing who Heather was... who she loved... what she enjoyed and how she spread this larger than life energy to everyone around her.  The last song in the slide show was "I hope you dance" by Lee Anne Womack.  In a blink of an eye I realized the true meaning behind Carter's spontaneous 'dance' in the park that morning... and not only did it make me cry - it made me smile.  A touching reminder to live each day like Heather did.  To the fullest and not put off making memories or creating experiences or living your best life.  Maybe I even like to think that was Heathers way of sending me some of her 'sunshine' that morning...

Too often we can all get caught up in such a narrow focus and lose sight of the true importance of life.  This is reminder that I can never hear too often and like Carter & Heather... I am inspired to dance!