You know what I love most about seeing a great movie or a really entertaining series on Netflix? It’s how it opens the positive Pandora’s box within me. Not just hope explodes but also ideas, thoughts, dreams, aspirations, revelations – they all start to bubble up like a beautiful, intoxicating brew that begs to be drunk. “Drink me, Jen!”
This is exactly what happened when I saw the first season of The Amazing Mrs Maisel on Netflix and again on the weekend when I went to see the movie A Star is Born. So, why dear Jen are you throwing this series and this movie into the same hat? Well, dear reader, I will tell you!
We all have these talents that we keep tucked away. Let them come out, be seen, for they need to play (Your Dream, Life’s a Mango).
Mrs Maisel, the young, beautiful, Jewish housewife was doing all the stuff society expected of her. She was playing the 1950’s housewife and mother role – and doing it well too, mind you. Totally unexpectedly, she finds herself doing standup comedy and boy, she’s good – really good.
BUT, can she tell her family – those she loves most in the world, can she tell them what lights her fire, what drives her, what excites her more than anything on Earth? Heck no! We have another personality, another way of being that our family sometimes just doesn’t get or see. They either can’t or don’t want to see us that way. How many of you have relatives or close family members who can see your Facebook page? I sure don’t. I want to be me, the me I am now, not the me I was as a kid or growing up or the me I am with family on Christmas day. I want to be free to express myself – to be goofy and insane, crazy, scary, sweary – however I damn well feel without the judgements and comments from family members who may be embarrassed to see me as the creative chameleon that I am.
You want an example? I was so totally inspired by the series, Mrs. Maisel, that jokes started popping up into my head and I began imagining myself in a one woman show where I could incorporate the recital of my poems with some jokes. My mistake? Even mentioning it to my nearest and dearest. BIG mistake. He is one gorgeous man but his comments were not encouraging. So, lesson learnt. I keep my big dreams a secret. No sweat!
Another example, dear reader, if you’re still with me. Before becoming a teacher, I was a legal secretary for quite a few years. A couple of years ago, a close male relative who shall remain nameless, said, “You had a great career as a legal secretary. Don’t understand why you became a teacher.” Not that he would have listened to the answer, anyway. But, Wow! The people who profess to love us the most, who we in many ways are closest to, can sometimes say the worst, most demoralizing stuff to us. The worst thing is that when we are kids, we actually believe this shit. We take it on board emotionally and boy, does it damage us! As we get older, hopefully we decide which stuff we’ll keep and which we’ll directly throw into the rubbish bin - where it belongs.
So, what about A Star is Born? Another example of a woman who was full of incredible talent and potential that was just aching to express itself through her. I mean, really aching to share that talent with the world. Because she had someone who believed in her, supported her, gave her opportunities to shine and saw her as she was – a song writer, a singer, a pianist, an entertainer, a lover of life, she became a star. He became the wind beneath her wings, and OMG, did she take off! Like an American Eagle!
So, dear reader, if you’ve got talent that needs to be shown, stop making excuses, get it out there! Get known!
Your family members mean well, don’t get me wrong, however, they cannot see down into the deepest crevices of your soul. They do not know your intimate dreams like you do. BELIEVE, really BELIEVE in your dreams – SEE THEM, TASTE THEM, FEEL THEM and, if you have to keep them secret, but alive, then you damn well do that. Our loved ones might know what’s good for themselves, but heck, they don’t always know what’s best for us. That’s our business!
Go grab that dream! You’ve got what it takes. Listen only to the beat of your own inner drum.
Love,
Jen x