Decide

Just as my life has been full of many opportunities, my life has also been full of many decisions. My experiences have often stemmed from a string of minor and major decisions, each having a consequence, good or bad. Although every decision seems separate, they are all linked in the myriad of our make-up as people. 

It's like the ripple-effect: if you drop a stone in water, you will see little ripples of water move outward. So are our lives.  I have heard the saying, "No man is an island". The decisions we make influence (knowing or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally) the lives of those around us. Imagine we intentionally used this ripple effect for transformation in our communities.

Yes, there are very dear people in all of our lives, that spent their lives making sure we could live ours. For me, this is my parents and family. I am immensely grateful, especially to my mother and father, for every sacrifice they have made for me. I often think about children who do not have this solid foundation to build on, in terms of their parents being there for them. In retrospect, I realize that I make the decisions I do today because of the influence of my parents: they have taught me how to navigate life and its many twists and turns.

Our decisions are based upon how important people in our lives have influenced us. They are also based on how we see ourselves, and how we see ourselves in relation to those around us. 

So, in life, we come across the "rotten" fruits of our poor decisions. We see a tree of bad attitudes, destructive behavior and actions. We see a bark of circumstances and even background. But we seldom look for and closely examine the root. I often think the root of most poor decisions is a tainted view of oneself. It's like looking at yourself in a cracked mirror. Granted, in sticking with the tree analogy, this is often due to absent gardeners, lack of sunshine, being fed the wrong plant food, or not having enough water. Despite all of the many reasons, the decision is still ours to make, as to who we want to be.

We decide daily: to act, to react, to respond, to laugh, to speak, to remain silent, to play, to engage, to take action, to eat, to sleep, to feel, to love...to live. No matter what circumstances we are surrounded by, we decide who we want to be. This speaks about our character, our work ethic, the way we treat people and why we do things (motives).

I think that true transformation comes from within - and is often linked to a decision. The truth is that we do not have control over the decisions others make. However, we can help young people see their potential, by giving them a "new mirror" to see through. We might actually have the privilege of helping the roots in some of these young lives to grow well, and healthily, so that this has a ripple effect into the rest of their lives. 

Why This Matters: Stories of Hope

It was a sweltering day in the vibrant city of Barquisimeto today. As I sat on my bed this afternoon, looking out my bedroom window, I began to reflect on the many individual stories we have encountered in the past 3 days alone. 

One that stood out to me, occurred on Monday afternoon. Elise Seymour, a fellow fellow and I, while waiting entered into a conversation with a couple who were also waiting. We were standing outside a room, that was bursting with percussion sounds of claves and different drum beats. It was a percussion ensemble for people with special needs. 

The couple we met started telling us about their son, who is 36 years old and has down syndrome. The proud mother pointed to her son through the window, and told us that he had been coming to the nucleo in Barquisimeto for 11 years. He attends the nucleo 3 times a week. Before attending the nucleo, he could not speak. Initially he was placed in choir, and then later was moved to this percussion ensemble, which he has been in for a few years. He is now able to speak, because of his time in choir, and his interaction with peers throughout this process. To me, this was profound. Being part of this nucleo family has literally changed his life. 

 

Yesterday, we visited a nucleo just outside barquisimeto called Tamaca. This humble-looking nucleo, has a big, vibrant and industrious spirit! We were welcomed by a vocal ensemble, and taken around to see many of the classes. One of the last classes we saw was a vocal ensemble containing women. We asked if we could sit in, and learn a song. When chatting later to the women in the ensemble, we discovered that they were parents of children at the nucleo. This choir was started for parents who come and wait for their children, as well as to help the parents develop musical skills so that they can help their children with their homework. This moved me.

One of the parents in particular, takes a bus from Barquisimeto 5 days a week to be at the Tamaca nucleo, since Barquisimeto has a waiting list, and is for children who already know how to play music to some extent. Her daughter is learning how to play the viola, and they will continue to travel to Tamaca for tuition till they are able to get her in at the Barquisimeto nucleo at the Conservatory. We gave her and her daughter a lift back to the city, and she began to speak about what the nucleo means to her. She said that besides keeping young people from things like drugs and prostitution, music is now what the community speaks about, instead of speaking about crime. This was a golden statement for me.

The work that is being done here in Venezuela by El Sistema is astounding, and it is easy to be completely overwhelmed when considering the fact that they currently serve 400 000 children throughout Venezuela. I realized this evening, that each one of these children and young people have their individual stories. They are receiving the beautiful gift of learning music, and as music and the nucleo family become an integral part of their lives, their stories are being transformed. Many of these stories now contain hard work, the pursuit of musical excellence and taking ownership of their own learning and the learning of others (peer to peer teaching/mentoring). 


The Director of the Tamaca nucleo, spoke about their sentiment behind learning music. He said they teach that every problem has a doorway and there is no such word as "I can't". There is a solution to every problem. This is as true for life, as it is for music. The pages in the very personal, yet unified stories of these young lives are filled with accomplishments and success everyday. It is in the daily mini-successes that come by overcoming musical 'problems', through hard work and practise, that change a life one accomplishment at a time. The nucleos and teachers are not just influencing the stories of these young lives, but they are an integral part of their stories. Since our stories are intricately linked with those around us, the nucleo becomes part of the community's story. More than this, the nucleo in essence, helps in beginning to write a new story for each child, and therefore for the community: A story of passion, success and hope.

Changing a world: Opportunity and Possibility

 Being in Venezuela has been both exhilarating and poignant thus far. My world has been changed everyday by what I see, hear and am experiencing. A fellow fellow, Xochitl Tafoya made this statement on Sunday morning as we were about to leave Caracas, "There are no limits". We were chatting about the different types of programs that Sistema has: orchestral, choir, folk, jazz, instrument-making and repair workshops, programs that cater for special meeds, and soon to be a string quartet program. Today, when visiting a nucleo just outside Barquisimeto, the Director, in an inspiring conversation, reiterated Xochitl's sentiment.

A few nights ago, I was thinking about dreams, and whether it was important to have this big dream for our lives individually. Why is it necessary to dream? What does success truly look like? Why does all of this matter so much to me, and to everyone else here?

Just as it is with great artwork, an artist might paint a masterpiece with an idea in mind, and then name the artwork, and display it in a gallery. When viewers examine the artwork,  they may see something completely different to the artists original intention. It also may mean different things to different people. 

We had a  class at NEC with Judy Bose just before we left for Venezuela. The class was about aesthetic education. One of the group exercises involved using creative movement to express our emotion, and even tell a story. When gaining feedback from the other group, they derived so much meaning and even symbolism in our display. They even managed to extrapolate meaning that we had never even thought of or intended. This was a astounding learning point for me: The meaning derived from what is created,  often completely surpasses the artists' intent. This is true for many art forms. 

I believe that this is also true when working with children. If I take a good look at my life- it is made up of a string of opportunities that came at the right time, that propelled and continues to propel me into my future. When we give a child an opportunity, we are changing their world, because we are changing the possibilities for their lives. Just as my world is being changed everyday here, by this amazing opportunity, so we can change young people's worlds. The world is ever changing, yet remaining the same- especially in terms of the circumstances we grow up in. But I believe that if we can help to transform the frame or lens through which young people see the world around them, we open the window of possibility.

This is exciting and inspiring, but it also scares me to no end. Rodrigo Guererro said a number of times  last week, "This is serious business!" That sentence has been etched on my heart as I realize the immense responsibility that comes with working with children. We are all in a sense stewards of these young lives. As teachers, mentors and opportunity-givers, the honor is ours, to be able to give and share music and 'life' with others. It is also our responsibility to see potential, and then help children to see this potential in themselves.

This, to me speaks about changing paradigms through changing mind-sets, through simply providing opportunities. Opportunities to learn music, opportunities to experience different things and places, opportunities to dream. These opportunities change the possibilities. In essence, if life had a doorway to success, then us empowering young people to succeed by teaching them music is giving them a key, and showing them how to open the door and walk through it. We also enable them to dream about what is on the other side of the door. Children still need to take the key and open this door, by making use of the opportunities presented to them. There are many more doors after the first one, and its this process, that enables a young person to dream, and realize that they can actually live their dream. 

The thing is, we do not know the full possibilities of the opportunities we give others. I have heard the saying, "Reach for the stars, and you might land on a cloud". I have a feeling that in this kind of work, the sky is not even the limit. By providing an opportunity, we open the doorway of possibility, and inevitably a young persons world is changed.

Inspired

What an inspiring day!!

The nucleo we visited today, Serria, is based at a primary school. Today I saw passion and excellence from a young age - not just in the manner in which they play (which is amazing for their ages), but in their attitude towards music. The teachers were awesome and inspiring.

Inspiring and enthusiastic teachers = inspired and enthusiastic students.

Venezuela...A Life of service

It has been almost a week in Venezuela, and we have been welcomed amazingly everywhere we go. To be here is a blessing, and I am humbled daily by what I see, hear and experience. Everything here has been thought out so well. This speaks of the astounding leadership of Maestro Abreu. His vision is incredible, and meticulous. On Monday, we visited the Centre for Social Action, which is a state of the art music centre built by El Sistema. It was truly built with the musician in mind...built with vision and purpose.

I see PURPOSE in every strand and cell of El Sistema. Nothing is done for no reason. And nothing is done selfishly. This is a lesson I never want to forget: Living selflessly. I have seen this many times in the past week. I think it is so easy to come in with our preconceptions, our tainted lenses and ideas of what this should be or what it is. Eduardo Mendez, the Executive Director, spoke to us today about not defining El Sistema, and that they never see themselves as the owners of this 'truth'. We should not limit the possibilities that this holds by trying to define it. This meeting was inspiring and insightful.

I do not want have this rare and precious opportunity to be here, and still miss the point. I see love, humility, hope and purpose as the yarn that is used to weave this exquisite tapestry, connecting people through music. There is a way of giving here that surpasses yourself, and even the person you are giving to or teaching. There is an attitude of such sharing here, with the understanding that we are all learning to share. You receive so that you can give, and you give because you have received. A culture of giving.

                            

On Tuesday, we visited the Moltaban Nucleo. We saw children fully engaged while being taught, right up to the child n the last row who did not have an instrument. We saw a class of 4 years play xylophone, while beginning to learn music theory. We saw young people, sometimes not yet in High School learning Beethovens' 5th Symphony. They are grappling with and soaking in this repertoire from a young age. We also heard some vibrant Venezuelan folk music, that made me want to get up and dance!! This was played on cuatro, Venezuelan harp, maracas and double bass. I have never seen the maracas being played like that before... I am falling in love with this music!

Yesterday, we went to two instrument workshops, where instruments are not only repaired, but made. The focus of both workshops are two-fold: To take care of El Sistema's instruments, but then in the process of doing this, to teach others how to do the same. At the first workshop, the craftsmen who fix the instruments played some folk music for us on the instruments they were fixing, and had made. this time I did get up and dance!:-) The second workshop we visited teaches people with disabilities to make and fix string bows. they too will eventually work in their own community by being employed by their local nucleo. The experience at both workshops truly moved me, because they were the epitome of a self-sustaining cycle. Building to last. Although, to build a high building, you need a deep foundation. Its this foundation that I am so interested and fascinated in.

                        
In the last week, the question "Why am I here?" has been running through my mind constantly. What does being here mean for me? For my life? For South Africa, my home country? What is truly significant about all of this? This time here is going to be a crucial and defining moment for me, a pivotal turning point and course alignment. Everyday this week, while experiencing and seeing what is being done here, I have had this ball of excitement and wonder that grabs me at my core. This is not just because of what I see and hear, but because of what being part of this family means to people. I find this hope growing in me, because I am beginning to see and understand what this could mean to and for people in my own country and city. This is cultural and social transformation in action.

                                  
There is something special about the hearts of the people we have met here. Rodrigo Guerrero, the Assistant Director of Cultural Affairs, who is one of the most articulate people I have ever met, said something profound on Tuesday. The conversation was about public speaking. He said (I am paraphrasing) that when you think you have something really great to say, then you need to wait a moment, before you say it. Often, if you examine what you wanted to say, you would find that you were saying it for yourself. By taking that extra moment to reflect, you are shifting the focus off of yourself, and you can then speak with the right intent. This changed my world! These few sentences also spoke volumes about his heart. This is just one example of one person who has grown in and is part of the El Sistema family. There are many others.

So, to answer the question I kept posing to myself: Why am I here? I am here because I am supposed to be here. I am here because this is about more than my desire to be here, soak everything in and learn. It is about purpose. However, while asking myself this question, I realized that I was looking inward, and missing the point. This is not about my life, my dreams or my goals. In fact, it is not about me all. Its about being will to use your life to serve others.