Which path is it again?

Happy Mother's Day!

I am not staying very active here as of late,  my apologies.

After awhile,  I feel I am repeating myself, and who needs that?!

However, I suppose certain things need repeating, in slightly different ways, to continue to stimulate the thought process and activate the self in the moment.

So,  which path am I on again?

Oh, right:  MINE.

Wouldn't it be great to KNOW that path a little more fully?

Wouldn't it be great to be excited to be on that path all the time?

Let's be honest:  some days you wonder why you are HERE and someone else is over THERE.  Why are THEY booking and I am not?  Why am I frustrated?  Why can't I do what they are doing?

We all do it;  we've all done it.

First,  acknowledge the frustration, the confusion,  the annoyances.  Acknowledge the un-fair-ness of it all (and as my dad said many times: who said it was going to be fair?)

Get that negative annoyance out of your sphere.  Acknowledge it,  stomp your feet, whine, do what you need to scream at it,  and then let it go.  Release it,  wipe your nose,  take a deep breath and STOP.

Why?

Because that path isn't yours.  When you start looking over at someone else's path - you aren't focused on your own.  When you aren't focused on your own, you are going to miss an amazing and very important discovery that might not come back to you.

Focusing on your path doesn't mean you become a narcissistic asshole.  Acknowledge and respect another's path.  Rejoice in it, in fact.  Be aware of those around you.  And then RELEASE THEM.

Your path is your path and ONLY your path.  Just as theirs is theirs.

Re-focus on where you are.  Not on where you think you should be;  or where you would like to be;  Be exactly where you are.

I don't believe you shouldn't look back to see how far you've come.  I believe you SHOULD be aware and give yourself that credit in order to fully claim the NOW.

How did you get here?  What is here, exactly?  How have you fashioned and shaped the NOW?

What do you know?  What have you learned?  What will you NOT do moving forward, (so it doesn't pull you backward),  and even more importantly,  what WILL you do in order to move forward?

I am list person.  It helps me organize the many tabs open in my mind at all times!

If it helps to write it down or type it out so you can SEE and READ what brings you to this point, then do it.   It can help to simplify and clarity very quickly.  It is often too easy, when frustrated, to paint in a broad & often self-deprecating, brush.  Now is the time to discover the detail of your path and what will pivot you forward.

But acknowledging fully what you have done to get this point from a linear point in time - say, last year at this time - will allow you to be still,  focus on YOU, and re-claim precisely where you are.

By re-claiming,  you acknowledge your path.  Which path?  YOURS.

That path that  is walked by no one but you.  That path that has never been walked before.  You get to discover every nuance, every twist,  every rock and pebble,  and every magnificent discovery!

The Jung quote: "Who looks outside, dreams;  who looks inside, awakens."   speaks to me.  It is always a dance between the two, not one or the other.  The path allows us to dream as we look onward.  Stopping to become aware of where we are,  where we have come from,  awakens us to the possibility,  and to the achievement of NOW.

So, let those around you walk their own path.  Acknowledge they have that responsibility.

Your responsibility is to YOUR path.  It does not need explaining, it simply needs to be acknowledged and claimed.

Dream as you look ahead and awaken as you walk.  See every shift.  Stop to embrace each one - even if it feels like a road block.  That block is on YOUR path.  See it,  and clear it.  Go through it,  around it, under it,  and keep claiming each direction!

Your only competition is your previous self.  The one you released a year ago to be where you are today.   If you have grown,  you have achieved.  Nobody can mimic that or make it theirs.  That is yours and yours alone.

There are no buts,  there just IS.

Dream, awaken,  acknowledge,  breathe,  be still,  move,  re-focus,  create,  and acknowledge that crazy path is YOURS.

You are enough to walk that path.  You are creating it!

The Path to Where?

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and nurturers out there today and every day!

I have written about path and journey before, but it has come up in several places over last couple of weeks and I thought it was time to explore it again.

What about that "path" and where are we going?

I am a big "why" person:  when singers come to consult with me, or study with me, when colleagues make statements and their language reveals something to me that is larger than the statement, I ask WHY?  I don't do it to be a pain in the ass.  I query in order to find the truth in the language that is being used,  or the way in which someone is hiding in plain sight.

Language can also reveal stagnation,  self-sabotage, or simply just not knowing, no experience, no true discovery yet.  None of that is "bad" on its own:  it simply reveals to the listener where that speaker is. 

Some of these "paths" queries come in question form, and some in statement form.  They are still queries.

As a singer,  no matter the genre,  we do not have the luxury of a one-size-fits-all path.  If you are going to be a doctor, there is a protocol that gets you onto that path, along that path, and when complete it, you are a doctor.  Voila. 

We do not have that clarity. 

What we DO have is the luxury of self-discovery and creating that path that will be uniquely ours.  It is scary, frustrating, annoying and exhilarating and exciting.

So where are you going?  Sometimes that determines where you are, and will allow you to see for yourself what you need to create that path.

Often, we must work backwards from the question, or the statement we reveal.

Here are some examples:  When a singer walks in and says "I wanna sing at the Met" or "I wanna be on Broadway"  guess what my first question is?  Yes, you guessed it:  "why"?

Often the allure of the unknown is bright and shiny and the reality of what that actually MEANS hasn't sunk in.  What does it MEAN to be ready to be there?  What do you have to do?  Do you have enough bread crumbs to weave yourself back to where you actually are right now, in order to build a focus of intention to that particular goal?  Why is it that important to you to be "there"?  What does it represent to you? 

Other examples:

"I don't sound like xyz;  I need to sound more like that so I can get a job."

Again, I ask "why".   Language reveals.  This is a goal to disaster because sounding more like so-and-so isn't going to get you a job.  Sounding more like YOU is going to get you more like YOU, and if they want YOU then YOU get the job.

"I want a career."  And again, I ask "why"? and "doing what?"  What does the word "career" mean to you? 

Often, those "lofty goals" will change as you become more and more clear about who you are, why you are, and how you are.  They become less important because the path becomes clearer in its specificity of NOW.

What inspires you?  Who inspires you?  Why?

Are you aware there is a difference between making music and making a living making music?

Do you have talent, tenacity and training and the eagerness, energy & focus to hone all of it?

Wanting it doesn't make it so.

We often still hear "If you want a career you must do...."  as if there is a holy grail of knowledge that creates a career path. 

That just isn't so.  Not as performers.

You can be talented, go to the "right" schools, sing for the "right" people,  apply for the "right" programs, and still be sitting at home with no career.

There are others that don't "follow the protocol" of "right" - and somehow they develop a career.

Why?

Well, a little bit of luck doesn't hurt.  Being in the right place at the right time doesn't hurt. 

And the big one: being READY in case it's time.   There is nothing worse than missing an opportunity because you weren't ready. 

And what is ready?  Revealing YOU through your craft.  Claiming YOUR authenticity through the medium you wish to be seen in.  That means training, and discovery and self-discovery, and more honing, and more training, and more discovery!

I have been listening carefully to the language used by people in the business - be it opera or music theatre - and it reveals the same:  "That sounds great on you."  "You wear that well."  "As soon as I heard him I knew he would wear this character well."

It's about YOU being ready.  YOU.  YOU to step in and embody that song, that role, that repertoire.

Not you sounding like the other people that wear that;  Not you doing what everybody else does; Not you  pretending;  not you "schmacting";  not you "winging it";  not you "faking it til you make it". 


JUST YOU.  Developing, evolving, emerging, finishing.  YOU and your craft.

So, the path to where exactly?  Are you going to be YOU when you get there or did you forget that THAT path - to the authenticity of YOU - is more important than anything else?

You want a career?  What are YOU doing to make it happen?  Have you developed YOU enough to have one if it arrives?  Do you understand all the components?  Can you do them all?  What are you lacking?  What needs more YOU?

Ah, the questions reveal where the path is - and guess what?  Once you start to answer the questions, and DO the answers...you are ON the path.  The path to YOU. 

Let that guide you to the potency of destination that will keep morphing and growing with you.

The day we "arrive" is the day we quit growing. 

The path is whatever you choose to forge.  It's how you take it on that matters now.