The Magic of the Little Things
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the little everyday to-do’s and mishaps and failures. Emails need to be sent, workshops need to be scheduled, money needs to be raised, curriculum needs to be written (at least, that’s what my day-to-day looks like). While I usually enjoy these little things, I am of course prone to the frustration and annoyance that comes with them. That’s why it’s really important to step back from our inboxes, or that Slack channel, or the never-ending Zoom meetings and see that what we are doing has purpose and meaning. Sometimes you have to make yourself do it intentionally. And sometimes, it comes to you without even trying.
This happened to me recently at a musical storytelling workshop. I hadn’t taught in-person in over a year, and I felt invigorated. We showed one of our short films, Unbreakable, during the class to demonstrate how far you can take a musical story. I hadn’t watched the full film in awhile. Standing at the back of the room, I studied the students’ faces as they watched. I found fault with many elements of the film – that transition is bad; why didn’t I add an animation there?; that part of the story should have been clearer.
What did the film look like in their eyes?
Once it finished, we asked for feedback and initial reactions. One student raised her hand and shared how much she connected with the narrative and main character. She described the film insightfully, with the exact meaning we intended. The workshop continued with the students making their own musical stories through stop motion animation. She excitedly presented her work, inspired by the film and what we learned earlier on. What she didn’t realize was that this moment pulled me far away from the classroom we were in, from the unanswered emails sitting in my inbox, and from the tax returns needing to be started (yikes…). I was forced to step back and see that all of those little things are worth every late night and early morning. They all incrementally lead to moments like this – the ones I get to witness and those that I don’t.
As the end of the year quickly approaches, force yourself to step back far away from all the little things that make you scream with frustration. Know that each one is leading you to something magical. Because, after all, you are taking an idea, created by neurological electrical signals firing off in your beautiful brain and making it happen. And that’s simply magical.
Quick Links:
Watch the Unbreakable film and check out the comic book version.
Learn more about our other musical stories: Feather Pen Films.
How did we come up with the Unbreakable story? Check it out, here.
Interested in practicing musical storytelling for yourself? Read more, here.
