Life, actually…
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NEVER HAD ONE LESSON
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WHOOOO…WHOOO…
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The Birmingham-to-Tuscaloosa-to-New Orleans train whistle brings me out of a sweet 4 am dream. A dream in which I am Gene Kelly cruising effortlessly through drenching rain, not giving a dang about the discomfort of clinging wet clothing and squishy hard soled shoes. Gene Kelly, singing and smiling in perpetuity, his feet barely touching down as he floats, in love and in life.
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Someone asked me the other day, what my greatest wish is. I immediately said, “I would like to be Gene Kelly for just three minutes, just to see what it’s like to draw people out of their troubles and into a few moments of hope.”
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There, I said it. Wouldn’t it be nice to move like Gene Kelly?
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To dream the impossible dream.
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It looks so easy, doesn’t it?
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Fred Astaire once said, ”I just put my feet in the air and move them around.”
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That’s the secret. Fred and Gene want us to suspend disbelief for a moment and make us think it’s that easy to be elegant and inspiring.
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Maybe it is.
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The magician who wows me with unexpected trickery, the trapeze artist who makes me think for an instant, “Why, I could do that!”, the actor who causes me to laugh despite my comfortable gloominess, the self-confident police officer who waves me past without giving me a ticket, the caregiver who smiles while tending to a helpless patient, the calming grandfather who transforms a child’s tears into laughter.
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These people are helpers, helping me to embrace, rather than contest, the time I have.
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We are all performers setting examples, whether we know it or not.
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Like most achievements in life, it might take years to perfect the gracefulness it takes to donate a transformative moment, a moment that someone might need desperately.
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I have many choices each day, but I feel best about myself and the world when I choose to help uplift hope rather than perpetuate fear.
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It can be as simple an act as watching Ferris Bueller playing his clarinet with horrifyingly tuneless results. The joy comes from his earnestness. He thinks he’s making beautiful music. He proudly looks straight at me and says, “Never had one lesson!” and continues his performance.
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I giggle each time this scene repeats itself. It proves that very often a giggle is exactly what is required to take seriously the next important moment of life.
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And imagining myself to be Gene Kelly for three minutes never seems to be a waste of time
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© 2022 A.D. Jim Reed