Beauty over Perfection

This past week we went to see Hamilton at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.  Our family also saw it about four years ago when it was in Tulsa for the first time.  When leaving the event, we were talking about what we liked this time and what seemed different.  We also considered the previous performers, as well as this new cast, and noticed the things that stood out to us in their unique performances.

During the show, there were a few times when a performer was a little off-key, or the audio in the room was a little out of balance.  There were times when a performer mixed up a line or got off tempo.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was beautiful, and it was way better than I could ever do.

As I watched the show I thought about how brave it is for those performers to take the stage every day - over and over again.  I don’t know their stories.  For all I know, they were performing through their own grief and sorrow, and yet they got out there and gave it their all.  For close to three hours they sang and danced while telling stories of legacy, forgiveness, love, loss, war, freedom, pride, humility, and more.

It didn’t matter that the show wasn’t perfect.  We didn’t go to see it expecting it to be flawless.  We went to see it because the story it tells is moving; it captivates us and makes us curious, it invites us to think about the past, while also challenging us to think about the stories we are writing in our own lives.

It makes me wonder what are the brave things that we all do every day; the moments that are imperfect, but that are beautiful nonetheless.

• Nursing

• Parenting

• Caregiving

• Teaching

• Pastoring

• Farming

• Engineering

• Programming

• Dancing

• Singing

• Acting

• Gardening

• Studying

• Serving

Obviously, this list could go on for a very long time.  What would you add?

Morgan Harper Nichols writes, “Beautiful things take time.”  I think this is a lovely reminder that we are all a work in progress.  We are learning and growing every day.  It is a bit risky.  There is a chance we will mess up.  There is a chance we will cause pain and/or experience pain.  AND!  There is a chance we will succeed.  There is a chance that we will make a difference in ways we never could have imagined.

Are we willing, like the performers taking the stage each night, to know some things might go wrong along the way, but that the bravery of showing up each day is part of what leads to beauty in the end?


~  Melissa