Here's a little poem I wrote last night... how does it speak to you? --- A Heroes journey through the foot hills, Past the lilacs and daffodils A wanderer with a goal To find his missing soul. No burning expectation Just quiet deliberation. Mindful opulence, Blissful presence. Childlike wonderment. Pure bewilderment.
Sends out his vibration across the land Thoughts bring objects to his hand. Mountains move, the world then bends. His visions cleared, the earth sends What he was seeking all along, Once he let out his song. The note soars past mortar and brick Reaching minds faster than quick. To the sound of his voice calling within. Finally trusting himself to begin. --- How can you let out your song today? I would love to hear... "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." -Lou Holtz
Everything in life starts as
an idea. A small thought that
continues to fester in the mind until it must be released. A seed so small that if planted could
grow into a tiny plant or a rain forest.
Everyone has these inspired ideas but many refuse to plant the
seed. Look around you… ideas are
everywhere. The chair you sit on,
the computer you’re reading this from, the electricity that’s powering your
place. Ideas are all around and
there are truly remarkable when you think that it all started with a thought in
someone’s head. Well, yesterday I
had the distinct privilege of seeing one of those tiny ideas manifest into
something incredible.
About four years ago when I was
a senior at the University of Michigan I happened to stumble into an outreach
program for inner city kids in Detroit.
I had no intention of participating; in fact I had no idea it was even
going on! I walked in that day
dressed in sweatpants and a wife-beater ready to do a yoga class, or so I
thought; instead, I stumbled into a room full of elementary school
kids running around like wild animals.
Immediately one of my
professors approached, “Oh, Alex!
I’m so glad you came! You
can help lead one of the groups…”
Huh?! “Oh yeah, right… that’s why I’m here…” the lie was probably more
than obvious but I jumped right in.
I can’t even remember what happened that day because I was so thrown off
guard and probably pissed that I wasn’t going to work out! All I knew was that
forty inner city school students from Detroit were staring at me and the six
other volunteers. Alright, let’s do this! The idea was simple, “sharing the
positive powers of the performing arts to inspire the urban youth of Detroit (http://www.mpow.net).” Again, an idea. An idea that had no idea what it would
amount to or how much it would impact the lives of others, just an idea with a
mission.
Four years later, I witnessed
the power of an idea come to life with The Michigan Performance Outreach
Workshop. The seed, planted by
Ashley Park, Laura Reed, and Linda Goodrich, grew into a beautiful rainforest
where over 110 kids got to swing from the trees. Four years ago, there were about 40 kids involved cramped
into a rehearsal space, now an entire three stories of a giant building were
given to the organization, and that rehearsal space was strictly the lunch area
catered by Cottage Inn Pizza and Trader Joes.The six or so
volunteers from four years ago had multiplied into a hundred studentsfrom every discipline of the School of
Music. If you weren’t apart of
MPOW, you knew it, and you were missing out. And how could you not want to partake?
The 110 kids were bused in
from Detroit where they were greeted by a herd of cheering students forming a tunnellike they were football stars running
onto the field. Their field was a
majestic performance room where the game began with a dance troupe, a band,
clowns, singers, classical chamber musicians, jazz ensembles, one woman shows,
and even a boy band number set to One Directions, “What Makes You
Beautiful.” And it was beautiful…
kids were crying, cheering, and smiling from ear to ear. Then, all of the kids broke off into
smaller groups where they learned how to make films, dance, sing, act,
communicate, interact, and explore their creativity! I was shocked to say the least and they were too.
An entire community of
STUDENTS made this all happen… again, students! There was hardly any faculty supervision, illustrating the
power of community and that anyone can make a difference.Many of the students
from Detroit had never stepped on a college campus, let alone been exposed to
anything artistic. Some of them
just wanted a free lunch. Some of
them just wanted a chance to break out of their shell. Regardless of what they wanted, they all
left with something, as did every person involved with the event. This is what it’s all about, using our
gifts to help others, and we all have gifts that can truly change peoples
lives. After MPOWs event some kid
is going to go home and have an idea after an idea that was inspired by someone
else’s idea. If any one of those
kids start planting their own seeds who knows what will grow from their
gardens. How did MPOW affect you yesterday? Do you have a seed waiting to be planted? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!
Footage from yesterday:
2011 MPOW Event:
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"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it."- Albert Einstein
"If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself." - Rollo May
Why do we sometimes become
numb in the wake of our greatest opportunities? When our desires start manifesting often it can be scary or
overwhelming. Suddenly our minds
start racing with endless scenarios, routes, and roadblocks that don’t even
exist. We immediately start
panicking and exhausting our peace over the very thing that should be bringing
us bliss. But why? Well, if you’re like me maybe you’re
caught up in the “how” of it all.
So often when we have some
giant venture approaching we become paralyzed by the daunting question,
“how?” How am I ever going to get this done? How am I ever going to find the time? HOW!! Well, first off, by not asking “how” is how you’ll get
it done. When we ask “how”
constantly we’re not trusting in what we’ve set out for ourselves, or more
importantly what our desires are revealing to us. No one ever knows how anything is going to get done because
the how is unimportant. The “do”
is… the action of making it happen.
Sounds so simple but it’s hard to put into practice.
Think of driving in the
dark. When you’re driving home
from work late at night you know that home is the final destination. Now, before you get in the car you
don’t stop and think, “how the hell am I going to get home!? It’s so dark!” You just start driving. Your headlights can only reveal so much
road before you… your headlights can’t see 20 miles ahead of your car, but you
continue to journey home taking the road one mile at a time. You know where you’re headed and yes
you can’t see the path in front of you, but your headlights reveal more and
more of the road as you go. You
are driving!
We have to be drivers! Once you start driving you find that
it’s not nearly as bad as you thought.
But we have to be willing to start the car and go. Throw the car in reverse, put your foot
on the pedal… easy! See, we don’t
even think about it, we just do.
We venture out into the darkness knowing we will reach our
destination. Our headlights will
reveal the way home one-mile at a time.
Why can’t our work of manifesting our desires be the same way? You know what you want… that’s what
matters. If you know what you want
in your life, that’s where you start.
The drive to that destination will be revealed one mile at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed by the big picture
or the “how,” just focus on the first thing in front of you. Inevitably that will lead somewhere
else which will lead somewhere else, and so on.
Know what
you want and start building it one task at a time. There is no “how” or “when” because everything will be
revealed in good time if you are in line with your desires. Just like Rihanna said, “Baby, you got
the keys. Now shut up and drive!” Oh yeah, I went there! Maybe it won’t be as scary as you
thought, or maybe it’s more terrifying than you ever imagined! Either way you’ll have learned something
and will forever be changed. How
can you take action today towards your greatest opportunity? I’d love to hear in the comments.
---
“The
best way out is always through” - Robert Frost
“Do
not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.”
-William B. Sprague
