In 2007 Joshua Bell, a world-class violin virtuoso, conducted a fascinating experiment. He went down into a Washington DC subway station incognito and started playing for passers-by like an average street musician.
You would think that passers-by would have noticed, or stopped to listen to some of the most beautiful music in the world, played on a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin worth $3.5 million (an experience that they would have paid more than $100 for at Bell’s sold-out performance in Boston three days earlier.)
You would be wrong. Only 6 people stopped for more than a minute, and he only made $32–not even enough to buy a ticket for one of his own concerts. Much has been said about what this story says about our ignorance as a society, our inability to see (and hear) the beauty right in front of us.
But I’m more interested in what this story has to teach us as Creative Sparks who long to touch the world with our work. The reality is that so many of us are busking in the subway by living the starving artist archetype: giving our work away to people who don’t care, down-playing its importance on every level and then complaining that no one sees our genius or values our work!
I realized that I was busking in the subway too.
I was subtly down-playing the importance and sacredness of the work I do (both my artwork and my transformational coaching work) in a misdirected attempt to make it more accessible and less intimidating. (Ahh–that good old fear of out-shining others!) I now realize I wasn’t doing anyone any favors by busking in the subway. I was robbing myself of the chance to do my greatest work and also robbing my audience of the full power of the experience.
Only when we hold our self-expression as sacred, can others experience it the same way. People need us to create the space and the sacredness surrounding our creative work so that they can receive its full transcendent power.
But before we can create that spaciousness and sacredness for our audience– we must first create it for ourselves. Of course that isn’t easy to do alone (because, of course, we aren’t supposed to do it alone!) That’s where my great work comes in: It is my gift –and my great joy–to shepard others through this process.
an intensive 1:1 Creativity Incubator
for women who are ready to move their Sacred Creative Spark to the center of their lives and birth their creative dreams.
Program acceptance is by application only
(application link is in online Invitation)
(application link is in online Invitation)
There are only 6 spots,
filled on a first-come, first-served basis
so apply today is you want to be one of my Sacred Sparks
Not only have I been busking in the subway–but so have you.
What you long to do is what you are supposed to do. The world needs your creative work– however that manifests itself. What creative dreams have you been putting off? playing down? downright ignoring? Who are you serving by busking in the subway?
If you’re ready to bring your Sacred Spark center stage– click here to access the online invitation for the Sacred Spark Creativity Incubator.
much love!
PS. Here’s the link to the original (and Pulitzer prize winning) Joshua Bell story that inspired this post.
P.PS. Here’s the link to the (juicy and colorful!) Sacred Spark Creativity Incubator Invitation.