Even with a strategy at the ready, sometimes we just have to
let go. Despite all the planning,
practicing, nagging, hoping, wishing…things happen. It’s the unpredictability of life. Doesn’t matter your gender, your race, your
social standing, what country you come from.
Life steps in to remind you that life happens just as it did for me the
other day. Here’s what happened.
I’ve been playing the Fairy Godmother the past several years
with Rhode Island’s own Kaleidoscope Theatre.
Two weeks ago we had 4 performances at the Kelsey Theatre in New Jersey
for school kids on Friday and for families on Saturday. During the second show on Friday as I waited
for Cinderella to return to the stage resplendent in the gown for the ball my
magic had created, I got caught on my own gown or my shoe, something. I felt myself starting to fall
backwards. Thinking I would fall on the
box that was behind me, I let myself settle down on it. But it wasn’t where I thought it was, so I
let myself fall, unfortunately taking the table down with me.
The key words here are ‘let myself fall’. I didn’t try to stop it because to do so
would probably have caused more of a spectacle and perhaps an injury. Trying to control it would have been the
wrong thing to do. It was gravity and I
was going down. So in front of hundreds
of children and their teachers, the Fairy Godmother hit the deck.
No time to assess the situation. Need to come up with an appropriate comment
and move on. You’ve heard the
expression, “The show must go on!” And
so it must especially with an audience of impressionable kids. They needed to see that the Fairy Godmother
was ok. So I picked myself up as I said
something like, “I’m so excited for you going to the ball in your beautiful new
gown that it knocked me off my feet!”
Then I crossed over to Cinderella, introduced her to her flower girl and
coachman, and reminded her to be home by midnight! Oh yes, we sang too! I had to keep
going. If I hadn’t sent her to the ball
with the admonition about what would happen at midnight, the rest of the show
wouldn’t have made sense. The story as
we know it would have been over!
So besides a chuckle at my grace on stage, what can we learn
from this?
- when possible, pick yourself up and keep going
- We can’t let the little things in life take us out (or in my case, down)
- No matter how much you prepare, life will hand you surprises
