I went to the Austin singles' ward this afternoon to play a duet with a friend of mine for their Sacrament Meeting Christmas program.
It is a very talented ward!! Several very good pianists, lots of really good vocalists, an amazing violinist, a beautiful oboist... Really, the talent was extraordinary. Is it just a Mormon thing? If we got another randomly selected group of 20-30 year olds, would there be as much talent?
I was thinking the whole time how glad I am not to be in singles' ward. I was able to really enjoy the beauty and spirit of the program today. I was able to appreciate the talents of others without feeling envious or self-critical. However, had I been one of the single girls in the audience today, I know what I would have been thinking about.
"That girl is more talented than I am."
"She's skinny AND has a good voice."
"Why don't I practice so I can be as good as she is?"
Etc., etc.
I hope the young women in that ward are not as insecure or prone to comparison as I was.
I hope everyone there was able to feel the spirit and enjoy the talents of other people without descending into that dark place of comparison and self-doubt. I hope they're all way more mature than I was. :-)
So yay for not being single! :-)
And while you may have been saying those things, I bet others were saying things like, "I wish I were as smart as she is," or "If only I could run like she does," or "I wish my calves looked like hers," or "I'd really like her cheekbones," or I wish I could sing like her" and "how fun it would be to sing with my sisters and my mom," etc...:)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed all the talent.
I didn't know you were musical!
ReplyDeleteHer whole FAMILY is musical--across generations!
ReplyDeleteJennie, Gabby is indeed musical. Gabby, who were you playing the duet with?
ReplyDeleteGabby I am sure you played beautifully. I was so glad to get out of the singles ward at age 27. It was a long part in my life.
ReplyDeleteAh, Christmas programs in the singles wards... Christmas was usually a good time of year for me because I played my harp and got all sorts of nice attention. Of course, people all knew that I played the harp by then, so it was nothing special... But you know what? The Spirit is remarkably adept at silencing the voices of comparison, and that meant a lot to me in the singles ward years.
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