Play the Sunrise

Play the Sunrise

© 2005 Julie Jordan Scott

Have you ever been discouraged, felt like you were at a crossroads and had no idea which way to go?

Maybe you had somehow fallen so far off the path you didn't even know who you were - and you weren't sure when the last time was that you allowed yourself to be fully yourself.

Ugo Betti, Italian Dramatist, Poet (who was, by vocation, also a Judge) said "There is always a certain peace in being what one is, in being that completely."

Here is a story of how one teacher, Mr. Holland from the classic movie, "Mr. Holland's Opus", helped one student discover how to completely rediscover and then to fully be herself.

Gertrude tried and she tried and she tried and she just couldn't get a handle on how to make her clarinet sound the way she intended it to sound. She practiced the best that she could yet all she seemed to manage was more struggle - more squealing and more missed notes.

She finally told Mr. Holland she had blown her last bad note on the Clarinet. She was giving it up to pursue something else.

Neither Gertrude nor Mr. Holland knew it in that moment, but she was about to become his first breakthrough student.

Mr. Holland asked Gertrude to try to play one more time, just one more time, and before she played a note he asked her, "What is your favorite thing about yourself?"

Gertrude paused before shyly admitting, "My hair." She wore her flame red hair in two ponytails which sweetly framed her cherubic face.

"What is it you like about your hair?"

"My Dad says it reminds him of the sunrise!." She blushed as she responded, her face now a vivid match for her hair.

"Good, good!." said Mr. Holland. "Now close your eyes and see the sunrise." Gertrude dutifully did exactly that, a smile gently sat on her lips.

"Now, Gertrude, play the sunrise."

She focused on the music in front of her, hands grasped tightly at the well worn clarinet which filled her hands.

"No, Gertrude, close your eyes to see the sunrise. And then play the sunrise."

Her gentle smile returned and her tight grip on her instrument relaxed. She softly began to breathe life into the clarinet.

The sound brightened, she opened her eyes in delight. She was playing the sunrise! She was playing the color of her hair.

Once she stopped trying so hard and struggling with it, she discovered the wonder and beauty exactly in the moment she let go of it being so hard.

She needed to let the best of herself, her red, sunrise filled hair, to shine through the notes she played on her Clarinet.

Once she did that, she was able to feel the exquisiteness of peace. It was through that peace she was able to not only play the notes, she was able to feel the beauty within the notes. All of a sudden, that was all that showed up.

Beauty. Peace. Loving Presence.

Gertrude just being Gertrude, just expressing the beauty of Gertrude and everything else became coated with infinite, loving peace.

Today you can do exactly the same thing.

Answer in your mind-heart now, without thinking.

What is it you like the most about yourself?

Hold that response.

Breathe it into your heartspace.

What is it about that trait that brings you the most joy?

The most peace?

Perhaps your eyes like the ocean, deep and vast - they are the bearers of life and mystery.

Is your sense of humor like a blanket, which covers everyone it touches with warmth, laughter and happiness?

Name your favored trait and bring it into your mind and heart, allowing it to pulse across your being and then out to the world.

Pay attention today to what you admire in yourself and what makes you delight in that specific trait. Allow yourself to fully experience the wonder of you simply being you. Hold those observations so that you can review whenever you need a bolt of acknowledgement.

Daily Passion Activator is brought to you courtesy of:

Julie Jordan Scott

5Passions.com/PassionCrafting

2912 Alta Vista Drive
Bakersfield, CA 93305 USA
661.325.4116