The Ugly Duckling grew up to become a swan, but face it, some of us start as ugly ducklings and end up as geese—a little more loud and defensive and a whole lot less elegant and serene. Perhaps someday those who have dissed us will wake up and see our true beauty, but for now we’d better start with recognizing our own beauty for ourselves.
What beautiful thing do you see about yourself that others tend to miss?
Actually, other people tend to see more good/beauty in me than I do myself. They’ve managed to convince me that I have a good intellect and that I write well. At least, most days I believe those things.
There have been individuals in my past who seemed to believe – and seemed bent on making me believe – that I’m a failure at music. To some degree, they’ve succeeded. However, I still believe that I have some musical ability and that my love for music matters more than my weaknesses as a musician. It would be a lot harder to keep believing that, though, if it weren’t for other people who’ve cheered me on.
Martin, We all have the music inside us. The joy of music is found through sharing it with other people. It’s a language, not a competition sport. Some folks can speak it fluently, while most of us are just average, but nobody fails at music. It’s not possible to do that. It’s a gift and a connection to others. I hope we can jam together someday. I think that would be a blast.