Being Bold

What you can do or think you can, begin it –
boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
~ Goethe

I’m embarking on an adventure, a revisitation of an old love and talent, and I’ve decided to give it my best shot.  Might I fail? Sure. Might I fall short of my goal? Almost certainly.  Does it seem doable? Yes.  So – here I am.

When I was younger I might have drifted along, waiting for opportunities to come to me.  In part I think that is because earlier in my career I was in the loop and surrounded by people who had the same aspirations I did.  I was ready and available whenever anyone had a project or performance they needed another player for.  It was also easier to drift when I was younger; the whole world was open before me.  Now, I need to make a plan and take action for my adventure to have shape.  I’m not in the same circles anymore, and when somebody needs a trumpet player I’m certainly not the first person that comes to their mind.  Also, life happened.  I have a family, other pursuits and interests, and a community commitment that all need to be taken care of.  It’s not just me anymore, but more to the point, opportunities won’t fall in my lap.  I need to go to them.

The next item of business is that I need to be ready when any opportunity comes along.  It’s no good finding the perfect thing to participate in and then starting to prepare.  I need to be prepared every day, and that means getting stronger and better, even with no use in sight.  That’s a hard concept to embrace, even for somebody who has had it knocked into their head many times over the years.  It’s like a lot of other things in life.  It’s invariably when I’ve let myself gain a few pounds that I am invited to a dinner dance that I need to fit into that dress for.  If I had kept up my good habits, I’d be able to throw it on at short notice and go have a good time.  I can’t lose weight overnight, no matter how much I want to. I  can’t be ready to step into a performance opportunity without being in shape musically either.

It’s all part and parcel of the reinvention of Mary.  It feels good to have a goal.