I've written quite a bit about entertaining myself in some way or another.
My very sociable father said, after he'd had his stroke and had lost most of his ability to communicate successfully, "It is good that I am fond of my own company." I've never forgotten that sentence that he uttered fairly frequently. I grew to understand Dad's speech patterns because he lived with our family for three months after his stroke. I took him to thrice-weekly speech therapy sessions and worked with him, contrary to his desires, at home, as instructed by his speech therapist.
Dad had it right, though. I do need to be fond of my own company and able to entertain myself. It is not the duty of anyone else on this earth to entertain me, or anyone else, for that matter. Entertaining myself is a life-long quest and activity that will need constant tweaking, appraisal, and attention.
Entertaining others........now that is another matter entirely. Some do it well consistently, some do it well occasionally, and others, well, miss the mark almost one-hundred percent of the time. Even famous entertainers can have 'off' nights or performances, perhaps precipitated by audiences that are 'off'?
Classroom teachers are, perhaps, the most unidentified performers of all. You try leading a classroom full of students at any age. Younger students love almost anything the teacher does but as the age of the student increases, so must the teacher's effort to keep the various stages of mental growth and development engaged. The most challenging to keep engaged? Probably a room full of adults, all of whom have somewhere else they could be, or, depending on the circumstances, would rather be. We adults are the toughest 'audience' of all. We talk when others are talking, we talk over others, we get up and move about at our whim, and we do not hesitate to take cell phone calls any time, any place, regardless of whom we are with.
Which brings me to the idea germ from whence this posting came: What makes a good entertainer?
As often as possible, I walk with my Ipod, finding the music to be highly inspirational when I am chugging up area inclines. Some of my favorite tunes are from live performances by world-famous rock stars, all the way from the 1970's to present day. You can sense the audience's connectivity with the person or group just by hearing the their collective response to queries by the performers. The performer who fascinates me the most is Kylie Minogue, whom I believe is either from Australia or New Zealand. Her live performaces, even on CD, make the listener feel as if she or he is right there, front and center, as the concert enfolds. I don't know how many times I've heard her sing, "I Should Be So Lucky", but, each and every listening experience makes me feel as if she is right in front of me, as if I am there as the moment happened.
I'd like to study her performances. As a leader and teacher of groups, choirs, and bands, much could be learned from a charasmatic performer. Of course, the world has known its fair share of charasmatic 'performers' who led it down terrible paths of tragic destruction and misery, but the world has also known many legendary 'performers' who have inspired, enthused, invigorated and challenged its peoples to move upward, onward, and outward.
Here is my challenge to myself and others: Let us lead each other with kindness, patience, dignity, respect, and skill. We "all should be so lucky."
Ancora imparo
