Love’s the Only Dance

Love is learning how to dance
inside the light again.

. . . Remember that love’s
the only dance.

– Olivia Newton-John,
Amy Sky & Steven Mackinnon
From “Love Is Letting Go of Fear”

Today is the first anniversary of the death of singer and actress Olivia Newton-John, and to commemorate her inspiring life and legacy I share one of my favorite tracks from her 2006 album Grace and Gratitude. According to the album’s liner notes, this particular track, entitled “Love Is Letting Go of Fear,” honors the sacred truth that “Love is Divine Power.”

I appreciate how this song uses imagery of dance and dancing to convey its message. Accordingly, I’ve used images of dancer Thiago Pereira of the English National Ballet to accompany the lyrics of this beautiful song.

The pain is something
that you can’t ignore

You’re always wondering
what the hurt is for

Your heart feels something
that it can’t explain

You yearn for love
but you’re afraid to change

Remember . . . the wounded bird still sings

Remember . . . that faith has tiny wings

Love is letting go of fear

Love is letting go of doubt

Love is letting go of the chains
that tie your spirit down

And love is letting go of pain

Love is learning how to dance
inside the light again

You’re always haunted
by the love you’ve lost

You’re scared that
you’ll forever pay the cost

You believe this is the bitter end

Better lonely than be hurt again

Remember . . . there’s always one more chance

Remember . . . that love’s the only dance

Love is letting go of fear

Love is letting go of doubt

Love is letting go of the chains
that tie your spirit down

And love is letting go of pain

Love is learning how to dance
inside the light again

Love is letting go of pain

Love is learning how to dance
inside the light again

Love with all your heart

Love with all your soul

Love with all your might

Let go

Olivia's Grace and Gratitude features a flow of songs for healing, relaxation and meditation. In 2010 it was remixed and reissued as Grace and Gratitude Renewed. A new song was also added, “Help Me to Heal.”

In the liner notes of Grace and Gratitude Renewed, Olivia wrote the following.

Grace and Gratitude was written at a time in my life when I needed some personal healing. I have always turned to music, meditation and prayer to guide me. I believe that healing starts with an attitude of gratitude, and even in my darkest hours I tried to remember all that I have to be grateful for.

In these past four years [2005-2008] the universe heard me and has restored joy, health and love into my life. I awoke to the love of my life, my husband John Easterling, and my seven year journey to launch the ONJ Cancer and Wellness Center in Melbourne, Australia has finally come to fruition.

I have been very touched by the response to the words and music of Grace and Gratitude and have had the privilege of sharing it in concert with many of you since its first release. I am so excited that my new friends at Green Hill and EMI are going to make this music available everywhere. With Grace and Gratitude Renewed, I want to bring some of the happy energy I have been blessed with these past few years, to this revisited collection. I have resung many of the songs, and invited a few dear friends [Mark Masri, Amy Sky and Marc Jordan] to sing with me. My producer, co-writer and dear friend Amy Sky and I were inspired to write a new song, “Help Me to Heal” – I love it and hope you do too. . . . Yours in love and light, Olivia.

As I noted at the beginning of this post, Olivia died from breast cancer a year ago today. She had lived with cancer since 1992, and throughout her journey with the disease she was a tireless advocate for breast cancer research and an inspiring role model for facing adversity in a loving spirit of trust, tenacity, and hope.

Olivia’s albums Grace and Gratitude and Grace and Gratitude Renewed bear witness to this spirit, one that ultimately is all about love, “the only dance” that really matters. The songs on these albums have a beauty and flow that both grounds and inspires. . . . Much like the the moves of a dancer.

Related Off-site Links:
Remembering the Life of Olivia Newton-John, One Year After Her Passing – Cameron Adams (Marie Claire, August 7, 2023).
Olivia Newton-John’s Niece Tottie Goldsmith Says Continuing Her Late Aunt’s Legacy Through Cancer Research Has Helped Her Cope With Grief – Ciara O’Loughlin (Daily Mail, August 8, 2022).
Olivia Newton-John’s Daughter Believes Her Mother’s Spirit Visited Her As a “Little Blue Orb” – Jessica Wang (Entertainment Weekly, August 8, 2023).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Olivia Newton-John’s Legacy of Healing
• Being the Light
• A Sacred Pause
• Aligning With the Living Light
• Mystical Participation
• The Source Is Within You
• Inner Peace
• I Need Do Nothing . . . I Am Open to the Living Light
• Our Dance
• Finding Balance in the Presence of the Beloved
• A Prayer for Dancers
• The Soul of a Dancer