Over the next little while, as I continue to move in to my beautiful new home online, I’m going to bring some of my past content over to share. Originally published on Starshyne Productions.
Mr. Cringan was a much-loved music teacher at my high school. I studied with him, but it wasn’t in class that he changed my life. It was on the stage.
Our school produced amazing yearly musicals. Brigadoon, Finian’s Rainbow, they all came alive in that auditorium. In junior high, I went to see one of the performances and was blown away by the sheer energy of it, not only on the stage but also in the auditorium. The show was exceptional and the place was alive, hopping and full of joy. It was so amazing that I started imagining what it would be like to be a part of it!
When I did get to high school, I desparately wanted to audition but figured the competition must be fierce and that there wasn’t much chance of making it.
And here’s the magical moment.
Mr. Cringan announced that anyone could be in one of his shows. Anyone. If you came to rehearsal all the time, you could perform on stage. There was room for you. No matter what. You just had to want to be there enough to show up.
I love this man for what he taught me. The excellence if the show didn’t come from competition and weeding out. It came from harnessing joy and desire. Everyone on the stage wanted to be there. No one had to sit in the audience feeling sad or resentful or left out. If you wanted to be on the stage, you could be.
The Universe is like Mr. Cringan. There is room for you on the stage, my friends. There is. You’ve just got to show up and sing.
And if you haven’t seen it, watch this. Imagine the impact that music teacher had in their lives! We can all make this kind of a difference. You can sing and you can create a safe space for others to join the chorus.
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{ 5 comments }
This is truly a profoundly beautiful message and I want to thank you and your teacher for sharing it with me.
I love the message you’re sharing here. My instinct has always been towards “competition and weeding out”; the possibility of excellence from joy and desire and inclusion is still quite new to me, so this was a timely reminder and encouragement. Given all that, it was interesting to me that I watched the video of the kids singing and didn’t like it at all. But of course that didn’t matter in the slightest, it was just a personal quirk of mine. The kids were having an absolutely glorious time.
This is such a beautiful message. Thank you so much for sharing this post. It is a great reminder that in order to sparkle, we have to first be present.
Thanks for the beautiful message.
Thanks! I really, really needed to hear that today!!
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