In the play “All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten”, based on the book by Robert Fulghum, there’s a scene where a teacher is asking a group of kids a series of questions. When the teacher asks, “Who here can draw well?” the entire class emphatically raises their hands shouting “I can!” and “I’m a great artist!” The children give the same response when the teacher asks “Who is good at sports?” and “Who here can sing really well?” Then the kids disappear and are replaced with a classroom full of college kids. When asked the same set of questions, only one or two raise their hands. The others respond with statements like “That’s not my major” and “I’ve never taken lessons or anything.”
For me, this scene illustrates a really interesting point about a difference in attitudes at different ages. Obviously, as we grow older we develop a keener sense of our own talents when compared to others. No, not everyone in the world can sing “well” or draw “well”. But why should that stop our enthusiasm?
I’ve overheard people being recruited for the church choir say that they’re not a good enough singer to join the choir while expressing an enjoyment of singing. Who cares if you’re not Renee Fleming?? If you have fun singing, sing! Same thing with friends wanting to join the intramural leagues in college. Gee, I really like to play basketball, but I’m not good enough to join a team, they say. Who cares if you can’t make a three-pointer? If you have fun playing basketball, play basketball!!
I think it’s tragic that when we age, we let our perception of standards inhibit us from enjoying things that we’re not especially talented at. Think of all the fun we’re missing out on. Think of all the experiences we’re missing out on. Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that life isn’t always about being good or being the best, sometimes it’s just about enjoying ourselves.
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Your post made me think about this song from Harry Chapin.
Mister Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest.
And of all the cleaning shops around he’d made his the best.
But he also was a baritone who sang while hanging clothes.
He practiced scales while pressing tails and sang at local shows.
His friends and neighbors praised the voice that poured out from his throat.
They said that he should use his gift instead of cleaning coats.
But music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.
His friends kept working on him to try music out full time.
A big debut and rave reviews, a great career to climb.
Finally they got to him, he would take the fling.
A concert agent in New York agreed to have him sing.
And there were plane tickets, phone calls, money spent to rent the hall.
It took most of his savings but he gladly used them all.
But music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.
The evening came, he took the stage, his face set in a smile.
And in the half filled hall the critics sat watching on the aisle.
But the concert was a blur to him, spatters of applause.
He did not know how well he sang, he only heard the flaws.
But the critics were concise, it only took four lines.
But no one could accuse them of being over kind.
Mr. Martin Tanner, Baritone, of Dayton, Ohio made his
Town Hall debut last night. He came well prepared, but unfortunately
his presentation was not up to contemporary professional standards.
His voice lacks the range of tonal color necessary to make it
consistently interesting.
Full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.
He came home to Dayton and was questioned by his friends.
Then he smiled and just said nothing and he never sang again,
excepting very late at night when the shop was dark and closed.
He sang softly to himself as he sorted through the clothes.
Music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
(And) he did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.