Dear Mr. Benson: February 6, 2006
I hope this letter finds you to be healthy, happy and living a purposeful life. I’m pleased to report that Joe and I are now the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl whose name is Jillian. Motherhood has brought a whole new set of exciting challenges to my life.
Being a mother has also made me somewhat philosophical. Often late at night when I’m feeding the baby or rocking her to sleep, I find myself reflecting on the life that I’ve lived and the wisdom of the medicine men. I can’t help but wonder if my accident was meant to be, part of some cosmic plan to bring Joe and I back together. When we were dating in high school, I shared with him the lessons I learned from the Principles of Grace. Later, when he was at UCLA, he combined his passion for athletics with a natural curiosity about human anatomy and an innate desire to serve others when he decided what career to choose. In a sense, I helped to guide him toward a profession which in turn led to my recovery and our marriage. Life’s so full of mystery, and yet when things like this happen, some of those mysteries seem to reveal themselves.
I have to tell you that embracing adversity was the hardest lesson of all for me to learn. For a long time I viewed the end of my dancing career as the end of life itself. In retrospect I can see that it was really a stepping-stone to a more purposeful life. Viktor Frankl said that one of the ways people find meaning in life is by loving someone. It’s so true. Jillian and Joe bring a profound purpose to my life. Today, I’m a stay-at-home mom and happier than I’ve ever been.
Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m still very passionate about my art — dancing. Since I can no longer perform, I had to find a new way of channeling that passion. At first, I considered becoming a choreographer or maybe opening a dance studio, but I figured that’d be too time-consuming. Then Joe suggested that I consider a summer camp for kids that combines dance instruction with the Principles of Grace. I liked the idea immediately, because it’d afford me an opportunity to share with others the lessons that were so important in my own development.
I’m now a part-time entrepreneur in the mold of your mentor, Captain Free Spirit. My company’s called Dancing with Grace, an eight-week summer camp for girls, ages ten through fifteen. We recently completed our first summer season with thirty girls, and it was so much fun. The daytime activities focused on the four D’s: diet, dancing, discipline, and delayed gratification; things I learned at Julliard. During the evenings we worked on the Principles of Grace. We sat around a big campfire, and the girls took turns talking about their hopes and dreams. It was amazing to hear about their aspirations, to teach them the principles and to encourage them to reach for the stars. I must tell you that it was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever been involved in and can’t wait to do it again next summer.
I’m reminded of a lecture you once gave about how adversity can be a catalyst that enables people to evolve to a higher level of consciousness. It’s interesting because, if I’d not been in the accident, I would not have reconnected with Joe, brought Jillian into the world, or started the summer camp. In short, I wouldn’t have my wonderful and fulfilling life. In a sense I can see what you meant by evolution of consciousness. It was great to be a professional dancer, but if I’m totally honest, I must admit that it was an egocentric existence, one that was all about me. Now Jillian, Joe, and our summer camp for girls is the center of my world. To my own surprise I’m happier. The intention of the universe really is to perpetuate life. Now that my intentions (as a mother, a wife, and a mentor) are also to perpetuate life, I can see that everything’s interconnected, that there really is a circle of life.
So, my mentor, my teacher, my friend, know that the medicine men’s wisdom is being channeled through me to others and that you’ve enriched more people’s lives than you could ever imagine.
Be the best that YOU can be…every day.
All my love,
Grace
Dare To Be Successful Page 9
