The Journey to Fearless

"Mama, what is my thing?"  I want to be really good at something.  How can I be really good at piano when we always have these breaks?

These words out of the mouths of babes.  

Bill got Mary a DVD for Christmas, Taylor Swift's The Journey to Fearless.  It has live performances, but also interviews and footage of a little girl Taylor playing guitar and singing.  It says things like "she couldn't put the guitar down" and after she sang the national anthem at a big sports event the kids all made fun of her at school the next day.  It tells how she didn't have any friends because she was too busy practicing guitar.  

Then it flips to footage of her in the middle of the enormous arena singing in her sparkly dress with her sparkly guitar.  You get the point.  

You could just see the wheels turning in Mary's head.  A light went on.  Whatever it is that I want to be good at, I'm going to have to work very hard.  "Mama, I want a guitar."  We have a children's guitar upstairs, Mary, and you can pick it up whenever you want.  Mama I want to practice piano everyday.  Mama I want to see that concert live.  What she meant was:  Mama I want to be that good. . .. 

Nothing comes easy.  Not for Taylor Swift.  Not for Mary Ray.  Not for Sara Kotrba.  Everybody has to find what they love and work at it.  It is easy to be discouraged.  Bill took this short video of Mary trying to play guitar a few weeks ago.  Notice that she is having a great time, right up until the moment she has to change chords and she doesn't know the next chord.  Then she gives up.  Also notice that she had the right chord and she gave up anyway.  

The journey to fearless happens in very small steps.  Baby steps.  Learning one more chord.  Committing to practicing everyday for a month.  Making the steps doable and easy.  

Don't worry Mary, we're not giving up.  We'll will teach you the G7 chord so you can make it through Jingle Bells next time.   And I will do better at not taking breaks with piano, so that you can be your very best piano player too.  Starting today.

youtube link:  Mary's Guitar Medley