"The noblest of arts is that of making other people happy."
P.T. Barnum
~~~
Last Tuesday, January 2, was the last day of Christmas vacation
for my kids and my youngest had a gift card to the movie theater.
She had been wanting to see
The Greatest Showman,
the movie musical based on the life of P.T. Barnum,
the founder of The Greatest Show on Earth...the circus...
I had no idea the connections I would make.
Or the ways it would display
how each person in unique,
yet so much about all of us is the same...
Story does that.
It has the ability to reach
right into the depths of your core
and tap into your very own story
and create understanding.
It is why we love movies, a television series, our favorite books.
Why children love a bedtime story.
Why the Greatest Story Ever Told was about
the Greatest Storyteller,
who chose to teach us in parables.
This movie
reaches into a heart.
It reaches into
the struggles
of owning who you are.
This powerful video of the anthem of the movie "This Is Me"
says so much.
Take five minutes,
and you can't help but be encouraged.
Watch here:
If you've ever struggled
to be comfortable in your own skin,
you will get it.
If you've ever struggled
to find your voice
and then
to find the courage
to use it,
you will get it.
If you've ever been afraid
of people seeing your weakness,
you will get it.
If you've ever been mocked,
you will get it.
If you have ever had your knees knock
when you had to get up
and give a speech,
or sing in a Christmas program,
or try out for a team,
or go for a job interview,
I think
you will get it.
If you ever were afraid to show your face
somewhere, sometime
in your past,
you will get it.
If you've ever had a dream, a goal,
that seemed impossible,
that
you were afraid to admit
was even a glimmer
in your mind,
you will get it.
Researcher, writer, storyteller, Brene Brown
says that we are hard wired for connection,
this movie taps into that need.
When I started school,
I was painfully shy.
At conferences, my teachers would tell my parents
that I spoke so softly that I couldn't be heard.
They struggled to get me to speak above a whisper
when I read aloud
in class.
On the school bus
I was too afraid to ask
if I could sit with someone,
so I would just stand and look,
until the high schooler in the seat,
would move their duffle bag to make room
for me.
I would hear them whisper to one another,
"She never says anything. She just looks at you."
And still,
I wouldn't speak.
I was scared of older kids.
But they were the ones who had the bus seats
when by the time I stepped up those stairs.
I struggled to say what I wanted.
I struggled to say what I did not want.
I wanted safety.
I wanted security.
I wanted belonging.
I could not find courage.
I could not find words.
Numerous times
I needed to speak for myself,
I needed to speak for myself,
but I did not.
Many times,
I have identified
with that
cowardly lion
in Oz,
who longed for
courage.
It has taken me my lifetime
to find my voice
and use it.
I have feared loss of connection
with the use of my voice.
Yet I am finding that
real connection,
true connection,
comes from
living in authenticity
with my actions,
my words,
my choices.
I know it will be a process
for the rest of my days.
Using my voice
to speak
truth
is a continual battle
of
faith
and
fear.
The Greatest Showman
tapped into all of this
within me.
I was encouraged.
To keep being me.
And to continue to encourage
others to
discover the treasure
of
who they are.
