Host explores how music and movement express what words cannot and reflects on vocation as a call to action tied to the idea of enoughness. A playful music-and-dance outro closes the session.
Why is there singing and dancing in musical theater? When the story gets to a place where it cannot be told, with simple spoken language, that's when music and movement enter in. Music makes us see and feel and reflect and amplify the things that we are seeing and saying.
This morning, Jarrett ponders one of his favorite words: vocation. Vocation is the thing that you do because you're supposed to do it. Ms. Shannon Paul says music doesn't just make us feel happy, it just makes us feel in general.
On Saturdays, I always talk about this idea of enoughness. This idea that you are already, indeed in this moment, capable of doing something. Where does vocation fit into this idea? If you can settle into going, there is something that I am supposed to be doing right now.
Pearl Jam or Leo Sayer? Feel like dancing? First person who responds in the chat. That's what we'll play for our outro today. See you later. Dancing.
You got a cute way of talking. You got the better of me that voice. Just snap your fingers and I'm walking like a dog hanging on your le. You make me feel like dancing? Make me feel like dancing. Hey, Brooks. SM Jobs. How we doing, Ms. Shannon? Paula, you a Leo Sayer fan? I don't know what? I like that song. I can't not start smiling as soon as I hear his just absurd voice. Like, okay, I need to go to the beginning again. Listen. Listen to this voice. Oh, Sarah Monahan. 1% better. How are you doing this morning?
Get the Oz in the background. It's like, oh, cool. And then you just hear that voice like, what? Leo? This is why I love music, right? I spent a lot of my time with people who go, I don't know how to sing or I don't sing right, or I don't read music. And then you got the Leo Sayers the world saying, I'm gonna do this the way that I do it. And he just made our morning. Oh, Leo Sayer. How we doing this morning, everybody? I hope you're doing great, but if you're not doing great, I'll be that squeaky wheel reminder that you are still incredibly capable, incredibly worthy, incredibly.
In a space of being able to do really, really cool stuff. 1% better asks a question that may be deep to some and may not be deep to others. And I think that's part of the reason why it is deep to some and not deep to others. Bertolt Brecht once said this. Will there be music in the dark times? Yes, there will be music about the dark times. That's my answer to your question. 1% better. Music makes us happy because the same reason why music makes us sad, music makes us see and feel and reflect and amplify the things that.
That. That we are seeing and saying. My answer in the musical theater sense is, why is there singing and dancing in musical theater? Like, why is it used as a tool for this musical theater creation? And the answer is very simple. When the story gets to a place where it cannot be told, with simple spoken language, that's when music and movement enter in. So music makes us the things that non music can't. So that's my answer. Luke says music has all these special life moments for me that I can remember.
Yeah, music is sticky. I'm glad that I'm here. I'm glad that you're here. I know what I know, and I care about y'. All. We do have a wonderful crew here this morning, and I want to Share a conversation I had with my buddy Mike, Cadre, colleague of mine, yesterday about one of my favorite words. And this one isn't made up because most of my favorite words are made up. Like enoughness, like less, ish, like shrug, f*** it. I love made up words, but one word that isn't made up? Well, I guess I kind of make up a verb version of it, but it's vocation.
I like using vocation as an adjective. It's like, ooh, this work is very vocationed. Or putting it into that action. Rather than vocation being a noun, a thing, vocation being like, hey, let's vocation. And what that word means to me is you doing something. Not because you choose to, not because you've created the pathway and you've made it happen and you grinded and you showed up and you sucked and all those things that we hear. But vocation is the thing that you do because you're supposed to do it and it presents itself to you in a way where you go, there's no way I can say no to doing this thing.
I am 43 years old and I've never applied for a job in my life. I am a very. Sometimes I feel lucky and sometimes I feel cursed that I do things that I feel like I'm supposed to do. It's a scary way to do life because that means a lot of times I do a lot of stuff without making money. I do a lot of stuff that is innately, maybe not the best thing to do for my mental or physical well being, like grinding myself into the ground and giving too much of myself and so on and so forth because of this idea of vocation.
And funny enough, Mike, there's Mike. This is one of those vocationed moments that I'm talking about. So I'm going to reflect that conversation to you in a moment. But there's lots of music energy coming in here, so let's go ahead and dive on in. SMZAB says music helps me express what I cannot put into words. Music is like a hug. And because I'm always the expander of the aperture, music's like a hug. Music's like a kick in the a**. Music's like the reminder or the memory that you don't want to show up.
Music is all of those things. Luke says it's almost like my mental camera roll emotional being Pearl Jam. Just breathe if I'm feeling low, Luke. Literally yesterday's morning, yesterday morning's livestream, I referenced just breathe because I was doing a Don't say just morning. So I referenced Just Breathe that it would be such a better song if it was Breathe. I'll play that as we exit today. Ms. Shannon Paul and I believe music doesn't just make us feel happy, it just makes us feel in general.
Boom. And like I said, yesterday was a don't say just day. Hear Ms. Shannon's words. If I omit for a moment, Ms. Channel Bahia Coke, since I'm ruining your quote here. And I believe music doesn't make us feel happy, it makes us feel in general. I always love doing that. Removing the just removing the onlys and seeing what we see. Good for the soul. Good for the soul. A Pearl Jam morning. Okay, so back to vocation. On Saturdays, I always talk about this idea of enoughness. This idea that you are already, indeed in this moment, capable of doing something.
The world often says this, you are here. Once you get to this place, then you'll be capable of doing all the things you wish to do. Here's what enoughness says. You are capable right now of doing something that's going to move you here. That's going to move you here. That's going to move you here. That's going to move you here. The world doesn't want us to believe that. And by the world, I mean the loudest voice or the collective loud voice says, hey, once you start doing these things, once you do 75 hard, once you show up and never miss a Monday, once you every day, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
Then you will. No, it's actually not true. What is true is you are incredibly capable right now of doing something. That thing may not be big, it may not be nourishing, it may not make you go, ah, yeah, I did it. One of the things we always say in the enoughness world is enoughness most often doesn't feel like it. I'll say it again. Enoughness most often doesn't feel like it. What is it enough? Like, enough is not this. Yeah, enough is a yeah, that was enough for right now. That's what I could do right now.
When you do the things that you can do in the moment that you can do them, you're doing the thing. It may not make you feel like dancing, but it may make you feel like you are in that moment, incredibly, indeed, enough. So where does vocation fit into this idea of enoughness? If you can settle into going, there is something that I am supposed to be doing right now. Before I signed on here, I went to the top of the stairs in Our little bungalow house. And I waited around the corner. I just started making noises because I knew that my three dogs were over in the bed, which is up and around the corner.
And I wanted to see if I could get one of them to be like, what's over there? And one by one, a little puppy had snuck around the corner. It was like. And the second one and then the third one. That's what I was supposed to do. That is what I was supposed to do in that moment. That was my vocation. It was my call. It was my purpose to give those three animals something very animalistic. I hear something, but have it not be danger. To have it not be scary, but to have it be one of the beings that they exist in life with.
Being me, it gave me some joy. It made me feel like dancing. Here's the other things I'm supposed to do. I was talking with an educator this morning who literally said, he was like, oh, so what? Like, what do you have going on right now? I go, blah, blah, blah, blah. Here's my long list. And he's like, here's what I have going on right now. I'm a Minneapolis public education teacher who's a full time grad student in the evening who is tech directing South Minneapolis's high school show, while also music directing Matilda Jr.
For project success, which is a nonprofit which uses the arts to empower and encourage young people to go ahead and have connectivity with the arts. So and so forth. And, and, and, and he kept going. And we both had this moment where we affirmed that even though it may seem like we're losing focus, we're falling off the path, or we're doing the irresponsible, irrational thing vocation says. But this is where you're supposed to be right now. My buddy Mike, my Cadre colleague, and I had a conversation very similar to this yesterday, and we are all having a conversation very similar to that right now.
You are where you're supposed to be with what you have. So let that be where you are. And it may not make you go whoo. But it may make you go. And if life is made up of more huhs then woos, I think you're probably gonna be pretty content. Okay, so am I supposed to play Pearl Jam or Leo Sayer? Feel like dancing? First person who responds in the chat. That's what we'll play for our outro today. And yes, I am going to wait. Either get Leo Sayer, it makes you feel like dancing, or you get a little. Just breathe Pearl Jam and You know I love y' all because for me to go and play a song with the word just in, it makes me want to bang my head on the wall.
So what do you got, Leo? And we're back in. You got the Matter of Me. We'll go through the chorus. Y' all have a good one. To the right. To the right. Let's go. Make me feel like dancing I feel like dancing Dancing See you later. Dancing. What's up? Tomorrow in the morning.
Reactions and comments are for members. Joining is free and takes a minute.
