The other day I walked out of the main library and was suffused with beauty.
A woman was singing something from an opera in front of City Hall. I couldn't see her because it was too far away and there was stuff in between, but hearing was like I was in the third row and she was on stage.
On stage singing about life is difficult but worth it, love is very difficult and very worth it. I didn't understand the words and didn't wonder about them. Just stood there, staring at what I couldn't see and could feel. I wasn't the only one.
Then she stopped singing and spoke, "Thank you, thank you. I hope I see you September 24 at Herbst Theatre."
Her speaking voice was different. Her singing voice was the wisdom of the ages about human relationships plus profound beauty plus skill. Her speaking voice was the friendly young receptionist. "May I help you?" with the implied promise of presenting herself with no depth at work, no demands, no questioning of what work is all about.
Not everyone is going to have a gorgeous voice. Everyone has another voice beyond, "May I help you?" and "Yes, do this for me."
There is more room now for women to have a voice beyond "May I facilitate the way things are?" Everyone knows more than that. There is now a bit more room for different kinds of people to know more out loud.
But many people still don't have much room. We must keep taking more room for our voices, more room than it seems like is offered. We must listen to other people's voices, especially when they are hard to here. Gotta change the world.
The very cool thing about beauty, like that voice, is it changes the world in the moment just by being. Those of us who can't create beauty like that need to change the world in the ways we can, the ways that are built into us, the ways are bodies will release if we let them, practice, learn.
--(I thought I could find out who was singing by going to the Herbst Theatre home page and checking the schedule, but they don't give out the schedule that far ahead.)
A woman was singing something from an opera in front of City Hall. I couldn't see her because it was too far away and there was stuff in between, but hearing was like I was in the third row and she was on stage.
On stage singing about life is difficult but worth it, love is very difficult and very worth it. I didn't understand the words and didn't wonder about them. Just stood there, staring at what I couldn't see and could feel. I wasn't the only one.
Then she stopped singing and spoke, "Thank you, thank you. I hope I see you September 24 at Herbst Theatre."
Her speaking voice was different. Her singing voice was the wisdom of the ages about human relationships plus profound beauty plus skill. Her speaking voice was the friendly young receptionist. "May I help you?" with the implied promise of presenting herself with no depth at work, no demands, no questioning of what work is all about.
Not everyone is going to have a gorgeous voice. Everyone has another voice beyond, "May I help you?" and "Yes, do this for me."
There is more room now for women to have a voice beyond "May I facilitate the way things are?" Everyone knows more than that. There is now a bit more room for different kinds of people to know more out loud.
But many people still don't have much room. We must keep taking more room for our voices, more room than it seems like is offered. We must listen to other people's voices, especially when they are hard to here. Gotta change the world.
The very cool thing about beauty, like that voice, is it changes the world in the moment just by being. Those of us who can't create beauty like that need to change the world in the ways we can, the ways that are built into us, the ways are bodies will release if we let them, practice, learn.
--(I thought I could find out who was singing by going to the Herbst Theatre home page and checking the schedule, but they don't give out the schedule that far ahead.)
posted by Anne Herbert at 10:52 AM
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