Play It Again...

I hold a personal belief that each of us should have a song cued up and playing as we enter the room. This is not a vanity thing. Think about it. If you walked in the room with a screaming metal song filled with anger, people would already know to give you a wide berth. If you walk in with Danny Gokey's "Rise" playing they get a different impression. Maybe this is why I loved going to Disney as a child...there are theme songs everywhere.

Even in our church services, music is carefully considered. How does it tie to the message? What do the lyrics speak to people? Movies and TV spend millions of dollars on soundtracks and theme music to get it just right. I mean can you imagine Star Wars without John Williams iconic anthem playing?

I love musicals. From The Wizard of Oz to Phantom of the Opera, Grease to Chicago, Moulin Rogue to Glee. It does not have to be a Broadway production, I just love watching people burst into song and dazzle us with the professional dance skills that are held by all average people in the world of musicals. During the peak of flash mobs, I held onto a glimmer of hope that the world was shifting to expressing itself in a way only really appreciated by musical theater enthusiasts. Alas, it appears that is not the fate of this world.

I went to see "The Greatest Showman". I will go see it again and I will own it. I already have the soundtrack. It is rare to see a musical where the music lifts you up, empowers you and makes you want to take on the world. "This Is Me"  is that kind of song. In fact, the entire soundtrack ignites something inside me that feels electric.

"This is Me" is sung by the Bearded Lady, played by Keala Settle, and the ensemble. The song speaks to past weakness and shame then fires back with resolution to not walk in that manner any longer. The lyrics of the bridge are now written on my heart...

"And I know that I deserve your love
There's nothing I'm not worthy of
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
This is brave, this is proof
This is who I'm meant to be, this is me"

We are each different. For some the differences are obvious - a memorable appearance, unique features. Others the differences may be unseen - the way we think and perceive things uniquely. None of us are identical or the same. We are unique. I believe in equal, but equal is not the same. Besides if we were all the same, how boring would that be?

What Song Is In Your Heart?

That theme song that popped into your head reveals a great deal about who you are and where you are in your life. If you hear me humming the theme for the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz, I am stressed out. (I only recently noticed that I do this.) If you put me on the spot and told me to choose my theme song, I'd give you a short play list with the following: (I embedded links to the lyrics if you are interested - just click on the title.)

Control (Somehow You Want Me)

This is Me

Oceans

Yes and Amen

Let me encourage you to check out the lyrics, not just to my selections but to your own. Sometimes the pretty song you are singing is destroying you with its message. Don't sabotage yourself with a negative message dressed in a pretty package. Choose your theme song carefully, deliberately. If it doesn't play over loud speakers when you walk in the room, let it ring inside your head. Just make sure you call me when you plan the next flash mob.