The music of hope
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson began her career as an accomplished viola player. While on tour in Europe (in the late 1980s), her viola was stolen. She could have replaced it. As would be imagined, the theft threw her into a state of feeling lost, and uncertain. And Lorraine stopped playing.
After a while, Lorraine began to work with the only instrument she had, her voice.
When asked, Lorraine stresses that her decision to go into singing happened quite naturally. “There were a lot of encouragements along the way, but no individual, earth-shaking event that made me change,” she says. “But, back in 1988, when my viola was stolen, I took that as a sort of omen.” And although she has not yet replaced her stolen viola, she avows “the viola is always with me in spirit when I sing.”
Interestingly, Lorraine is shy about being interviewed; she has no press agent. But when she sings, she is known for an ever-widening swath of ardor, and awe, that she leaves in her wake. And a life-giving intensity. Bottom line: her voice—her singing, yes, her “music”—touches hearts and lives.
The irony is that the gift—the artistry—she has given us all began, when life turned left.
Because this is not a story about a viola, or about what has been lost. This is a story about the music that remains, and perseveres, and spills even after “loss”—whether that be trauma or distress or harm. And we—every single one of us—are the instruments.
This week, I needed Lorraine’s story as a reminder (and perhaps, reassurance). And to underscore a necessary paradigm shift for us all.
No, I don’t play viola. But I know what it’s like to have the “unknown” take a toll. And many know, like Lorraine, what it means to feel lost or adrift. Or, “at the mercy of”.
This is a question we refer too frequently, in Sabbath Moment: in our disarrayed world, where do we tether our identity, for well-being, for self-respect (self-care), for dignity, and for recovery?
Because this I know at my core: if we cannot find that place, it is easy to stop playing “music”. It is easy to stop caring. It is easy to stop risking, or giving.
So, let’s start with the paradigm shift. And the good news.
Here’s the deal: Life is not only about what has been lost. Life is about the music that resides, and endures. It is the music that gives, and empowers, hope. Which means that we have a choice, to say how the story ends. Because when I believe that I am at the mercy of the story—or the script, or “incidents”—I demand to make sense of it all. Or rail against it. Or play a victim.
As if I’m helpless. “I’m sorry, I’d love to ‘play music’—I’d love to care, or make a choice, or make a difference, or take a risk—but I lost ‘my viola.’”
When I’m weary in my spirit, I confess that I click my ruby heels, hoping to be transported to a gentler and saner OZ. And in the past, I’ve talked about wrestling with depression, which only exacerbates this notion that we need to make sense of everything before we care, assuming that the job is to find answers or solutions. When life is uncertain it is easy to live inconvenienced. (Making matters worse because we assume that uncertainty is a bad thing. Meaning that we don’t trust our internal resources.)
You see, this is where we go off the rails. When we focus only on what we’ve lost (scarcity), we are unable to access what we have (sufficiency). And when I see only scarcity, I miss the fact that every single one of us has been gifted with the “music” of creativity, abundance, heart, love, passion, gentleness, helpfulness, caring, kindness, tenderness, restoration, and a shoulder to lean on. This is the paradigm of internal sufficiency.
When you meet someone new, the preferred starting question is, “What do you do?” Which is—ironically—not really about walking your dog or tending your garden, but about your “job”, or your “career”. As if that’s our tether.
So. Let’s pause here. It is worth noting that in the context of our work (or job), to live wholehearted, authentic and from the inside out, is about the difference between a career, and a vocation. A vocation is a calling; a service, or ministry, or passion that spills from what is already inside, regardless of mood, or pleasant circumstances, or the need to avoid struggle.
The place from which the music spills. And people who play the music that is inside, honor the artist.
That’s not easy to do in this world. Ask any class of kindergarten students, “How many of you are artists?”
How many raise their hands? Every single one of them.
Ask fourth graders. Maybe half.
Seventh graders. A handful.
Seniors in high school. Maybe one.
It’s quite the educational system we have created. We begin with artists, and we slowly wean it out of them.
So, what’s the secret?
Remember that in every encounter with people, Jesus helped change the paradigm. “You are more than the sum of your circumstances. He saw the music—the artist—inside.”
I do know this: it is easy to lose sight of the artist that resides inside every one of us. Whether lost or buried or stuck or forgotten or dismissed or ignored… or “stolen.”
When we tag or label or describe ourselves, “artist” is seldom used.
Where I was raised, artist was a phase you went through (a dream), you know, to grow out of, to move on to something more useful and sensible—in order to get a “real job”.
What is this artist? It is the place in our spirit that births… creativity and enchantment, imagination and play and wonder, and attention and risk and investment, with a whole heart.
I quote David Orr frequently. But it’s worth it. “The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind.”
My friends, thank you for the gift of being you. Thank you for the small and gentle ways you spill that gift—yes, the music—with the people and in world around you.
More than ever, we need sanity and restoration. Be gentle with yourself this week, and let your music—and your compassion—spill.
Quote for our week… “I keep asking myself, what is mine to do, now. Every day, every moment: what’s the most creative, loving, courageous, and authentic way that I can show up now?” Miki Kashtan
BULLETIN BOARD
Today’s Photo Credit: “Dearest Terry, Your topic of being seen without labels was poignant. I took my grandson to a garden to see Tree frogs. My grandson is on the spectrum (a label) and he didn’t really want to go. I told him we would only stay a little while which he liked. Then when we arrived time was no longer important just visiting these tiny creatures was important. In their own way the Tree frogs and my Grandson ‘saw’ one another. It was beautiful! I love the way God weaves your stories into such a beautiful tapestry! Blessings always,” Marguerite Gerontis… Thank you Marguerite… And thank you to all, I love your photos… please, keep sending them… send to tdh@terryhershey.com
POEMS AND PRAYERS
The first rule is simply this:
Live this life and do whatever is done, in a spirit of thanksgiving.
Abandon attempts to achieve security, they are futile,
Give up the search for wealth, it is demeaning,
Quit the search for salvation it is selfish,
And come to comfortable rest in the certainty
That those who participate in this life
With an attitude of thanksgiving will receive its full promise.
John McQuiston,
“Always we begin again: The Benedictine Way of living”
Whatever happens to me in life,
I must believe that somewhere,
In the mess or madness of it all
There is a sacred potential-
A possibility for wondrous redemption
In the embracing of all that is.
Edwina Gateley
“A Mystical Heart”
Music for the Soul…
New–
Nelson — Larry Murante
