The Noblest of Arts

"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:

THIS IS ME

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,

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.