Part 4: Dancing Through Darkness

July 16th Anniversary: Be Joyfiant

Three years ago today, I invented a word that would change my life: Joyfiance.

The Setup

Picture this: I'm one day post-devastating news, sitting in a cancer ward filled with people who looked as broken as I felt. The hallways were quiet except for the beeping of machines and whispered conversations. Everyone was walking around like they were already dead.

But I couldn't accept that this was how the story had to go.

The Inspiration

Most people, when faced with adversity, get small. They shrink into themselves, lower their voices, dim their light. I looked around that surgery ward and realized I had a choice: I could get small too, or I could do something radically different.

I decided to throw a disco stroll.

The Plan

I went to my room, grabbed my speaker, and started curating a playlist. "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees was non-negotiable. "Got to Be Real" by Cheryl Lynn. Songs that made you move, made you remember you were alive.

Then I went room to room, inviting every patient on our floor to join me in the hallway for something unprecedented: a dance party in a surgery ward.

The Resistance

The charge nurse paused when I made my request. "In all of my years of nursing, no one has ever asked to have a community stroll," she said, "but I don't see why not." What I thought would be resistance turned into curiosity and support.

The Magic

What happened next was pure magic, but it started with me. That entire day, instead of feeling like I was dying, I remembered that I was a joyful human being capable of love, movement, and growth. I showered and took off that hospital gown, putting on a real dress. I decorated my "Soul Pole" - my IV stand where I was connected like an octopus to so many bags and medicines that I had to flap my arm like a bird to get all the tubes going in the same direction. But I didn't care - I had my disco stroll to plan for.

That evening, many people had been discharged, so not as many patients showed up as I'd hoped. But it didn't matter. The few who came moved to the music - some just swayed, others really danced. We were laughing, connecting, remembering something vital:

We were living, not dying.

The purpose wasn't to gather a crowd - it was to refuse to become the victim. And it worked.

The Birth of Joyfiance

In that moment, I understood something profound. This wasn't defiance against reality – it was defiance FOR joy. It was the radical act of choosing to lean into what makes us feel alive, especially when everything feels dark.

I called it Joyfiance: the courage to choose joy as an act of rebellion against despair.

The Science Behind the Madness

What I didn't know then but understand now is that this disco stroll was actually therapeutic intervention:

Physical Benefits:

• Improved circulation post-surgery

• Enhanced immune function through movement

• Endorphin release from dancing

• Better lymphatic drainage

Mental Health Benefits:

• Reduced anxiety and depression

• Increased sense of agency and control

• Improved mood through music and movement

• Enhanced social connection

Spiritual Benefits:

• Reconnection with joy and life force

• Sense of community and shared experience

• Shift from victim to victor mindset

• Embodiment of hope

The Ripple Effect

That disco stroll changed everything. The next day, I got to work studying how they heal across the globe, hoping to unlock what the survivors did differently. This was the beginning of my journey to understand the differences between those who merely survive and those who truly thrive.

Nurses started telling other patients about "the woman who brings the party." Doctors asked what I was doing differently because my recovery was ahead of schedule. Most importantly, other patients started finding their own ways to bring joy into that sterile environment.

Joyfiance as Philosophy

Three years later, Joyfiance has become the heartbeat of everything I do. It's not about being positive all the time or pretending hard things aren't hard. It's about the radical act of choosing joy as medicine, especially in the darkest moments.

Joyfiance looks like:

• Dancing in your kitchen when you're scared

• Singing in your car at the top of your lungs before and after chemo

• Decorating your hospital room with love

• Throwing a party when everything feels hopeless

• Finding reasons to laugh when you want to cry

• Choosing connection over isolation

• Turning up your music when the world tries to turn you down

Your Invitation to Joyfiance

Whatever you're facing right now, I invite you to find your own version of the disco stroll. What would it look like to choose joy as an act of rebellion? How can you turn up your frequency when the world is trying to dim your light?

Remember: You don't have to wait until you're "better" to be joyful. You don't have to earn happiness or deserve celebration. Your very existence is worthy of a dance party.

The Legacy

That disco stroll was the first expression of what would become MOJO Health's core philosophy: You can choose joy, even in the hardest circumstances. Especially in the hardest circumstances.

Three years later, I'm not just cancer-free – I'm more joyful than I've ever been. It started with one song, one invitation, one choice to dance when everyone expected me to cry.

What's your disco stroll going to be?

Turn up your music. Find your frequency. Choose Joyfiance.

Video Footage of the Disco Stroll!

The world needs your light, especially when everything feels dark.