Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Gift of Difficult Times

I can't deny it - the economic slide we're in has caused me more than a little worry. Will there be enough work for me? How long will this last? Can I support myself like this for much longer?
But, honestly, I have personally seen a silver lining in all this. Sounds trite, but - if I'm being honest - it has been somewhat refreshing and satisfying to think about expenses and necessities with fresh eyes. At moments, I've looked around and thought - I really do have enough shoes and I really didn't need HBO on my cable. I am committed to living a good life - but I see that a good life might just be a little less cluttered than my old life. This paring down to the essentials is what I'm thinking of as the gift of difficult times. And for this gift, I am grateful.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Hooray for Mr. B. and PS 22!

Apparently, the chorus from PS 22 on Staten Island in NY has been taking the globe by storm on YouTube, but I hadn't seen these amazing young singers and their teacher until this morning on Good Morning America. Gregg Breinberg (Mr. B.) is the extraordinarily committed and energetic music teacher who has imbued hundreds of kids with the joy (and, clearly, transformational power) of music. You can't watch and listen to Mr. B. and the chorus and not catch their infectious enthusiasm and feel inspired. Have a listen to just one of their many YouTube hits, "Let There Be Peace On Earth": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4ubAh9TLko. When asked about the importance of music and arts education on GMA this morning, Mr. B. offered: "We do pretty well with English and math, but if we don't teach music and humanities, people don't learn how to be human." As a life-long singer (and listener!), I couldn't agree more.

Read more about them in this NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/education/26chorus.html