The Ren Fest Magic
When you were younger, I bet you thought Christmas was magic. Snow, Santa Claus, presents, the nativity, angels, singing. Then as you grow older, the snow becomes a chore, Santa Claus turns into K-mart, and you realize that your voice sounds like a goat in heat. The magic seems to be gone. The holiday hasn't changed, but your perception has. You're no longer the child with a desire to make the world's biggest snowman with your daddy.
Here's the secret -- the spirit of Christmas is still there, but now the roles are reversed. When you become Santa Claus, when you realize that goats all together make a choir, and that someone needs your help putting the coal eyes on the snowman, you again find the magic.
It was only last year that I realized I wasn't new to fest anymore. This is my tenth year, and each year there are fewer and fewer on cast who were there when I started. Many of those who energized us, who inspired us on the streets or on the stage, have moved on. It's time to find magic not in being inspired, but in seeking to inspire others.
Inspiration doesn't come from focusing on the drunks or the Jack Sparrows or the rain. Focus on the kids, the shops, the shows, the morning dew and the sunsets, the music. The magic is as much there as it has ever been. It's time to not only rediscover it, but to show it to someone else.
Here's the secret -- the spirit of Christmas is still there, but now the roles are reversed. When you become Santa Claus, when you realize that goats all together make a choir, and that someone needs your help putting the coal eyes on the snowman, you again find the magic.
It was only last year that I realized I wasn't new to fest anymore. This is my tenth year, and each year there are fewer and fewer on cast who were there when I started. Many of those who energized us, who inspired us on the streets or on the stage, have moved on. It's time to find magic not in being inspired, but in seeking to inspire others.
Inspiration doesn't come from focusing on the drunks or the Jack Sparrows or the rain. Focus on the kids, the shops, the shows, the morning dew and the sunsets, the music. The magic is as much there as it has ever been. It's time to not only rediscover it, but to show it to someone else.