Spiritual Musing
by Angie Mack @2021
For speaking engagements contact angie@ozaukeetalent.com
To the Audience
What do you think is the best thing anyone has ever said to me?
Can you break it down to one word?
How about breaking it down to four letters?
What do you think the word is?
On the count of three, please say your word out loud.
One. Two. Three.
OK. One of the words that I heard was…..Love?
OK. Who said “love”?
No. It is not love.
So What Was the Word?
The best word that any other human being has ever said to me came from another multidisciplinary artist named Kevin Ramsey. I don’t think that he even knows this. But he will soon find out!
Soar. S-O-A-R.
Kevin said, “Soar”. I can’t quite remember when he first said it. It might have been in a Facebook birthday message or an email. Maybe he said it when I saw him at the Milwaukee Rep on the eve of the pandemic.
I spontaneously hear this word during times that I feel alone or discouraged. Upon hearing it, I find immediate comfort and courage. Hope begins to flood in. I encourage myself to think bigger. I feel myself straightening up my shoulders and standing taller. I am reminded that I am a pioneer and that feeling alone and discouraged is part of the territory.
Personal Accounts
Oddly, I have only had an eagle fly over my head three times in my life. Those three times were within the last year.
A spiritual friend of mine once had a vision of me as an eagle. Rather than flying, as eagles do, I bobbled along in the ocean on a small square piece of wood. My mate was floating on the piece of wood with me. However, my mate was not an eagle. He was another type of bird. The message was that I needed to quit bobbling in the water and fly.
When I hear the word, “soar” I am reminded that God has a calling on my life. That calling is personal. I need only to follow God’s lead on this dance of life. I am a spiritual being with a spiritual calling and God knows how much time left. The deeply spiritual walk is solitary. The creative walk is solitary. For me, solitary is best.
Tell Someone to Soar Today
When I hear the word, “soar” I feel like someone is cheering me on. Someone. Oh yes. One. Do you know how much courage and confidence that gives me? Maybe he is an eagle, too. Perhaps he has known the lonely and discouraging road.
In my opinion, cheering someone on to soar is what the highest form of love is all about. If we love someone, we will want what is best for them even if that means letting them go.
Not Everyone Has this Mentality
As a lifetime leader and mentor in the arts, I operate in this ministry of encouragement without even thinking about it. In all honesty, I want those around me to soar. And many of them have. I live, breath and operate with this mentality for others.
Sometimes I forget that not everyone has this mindset and it has caused me much grief and disillusionment at times. I have sometimes felt used, abused and discarded. I have seen others feel used, abused and discarded. My efforts have legitimately been sabatoged and ignored at times. Sometimes I feel that people would rather pirate my talent for their personal gain rather than encourage and support me to flourish as a creative. I know that I am not alone in this.
Gratitude
So when someone like Kevin says to me, “soar”, it means more than anyone can ever know. So thank you, Kevin. This has been a critical message to me during a very difficult time in life. I pray that you keep soaring as well! I am thankful for genuine people like you!
