By: Keith Kappes
columnist
Carter County Times
(Reprinted upon request from 2018)
I have been thinking about a new direction for my personal column for several weeks, and today I am happy to report that the task has been accomplished.
Thanks to “I Hope You Dance,” a great song by country singer Lee Ann Womack, and my family’s ninth annual trip to the beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, my future remarks here should have a much different tone.
Four powerful lines from her 2000 song influenced my decision, including:
“I hope you still feel small when you stand by the sea.” “I hope you never lose your sense of wonder.” “May you never take a single breath for granted.” “Promise me you’ll give faith a chance.”
Without warning, the phrase about feeling small by the sea came to me in a flash as I stood watching the surf in the Atlantic Ocean crash ashore at Corolla, North Carolina.
Songwriters Tia Sillers and Mark Sanders read my mind when they wrote this powerful line.
More than 60 years after I first saw the sea in South Carolina, I am still awestruck by its majesty and power.
Womack’s song encourages us to love unconditionally, to be people of strong faith, to have the courage to make difficult choices, and to never become too demanding to appreciate the wonders of nature.
My new goal with this column is to be more active and creative and to share good things that hopefully inspire or uplift us.
This may be a lofty, unrealistic goal, but I am determined to try. Too often these days I wonder if this is still the free country of my birth and if anyone cares what happens to the United States in the future.
I’ve reached a point where I’m tired of seeing and hearing selfish, malicious character assassins dominating the 24-hour news cycle and/or social media.
They respect nothing and no one, regardless of religious or political affiliation or economic status. And I intend to give them the attention they deserve… none!(Contact Keith at [email protected])
