Targets
Alternate post title, “Goals.”
When I was a co-director of a church choir, we had a difficult time getting some people to show up for practice. We live outside of DC and, as you may or may not know, this area is ALWAYS BUSY. Always going. Always on to the next thing. So our first theory was, “Hey, let’s have an agreement, signed, stating people will be here for practice and performance and if they miss a few times let’s talk about future participation.” Boil it down, miss three and you’re out. Unless you were sick twice and someone died once. You get the general concept, I’m sure.
It kind of worked but I felt like a jail warden instead of the servant inspirer of a creative volunteer group. I talked to my co-director and we decided, “Hey, we’re all adults. If you want to be here, be here. If you don’t, then you’ve made you’re choice and then don’t come at all. No one benefits from partial participation.”
That failed.
FAIL.
People didn’t show up. (Most did. But it still reduced the population.)
A genius prophet friend of mine offered, “Dude, adults still need goals. Something to aim for. Telling them you expect full participation and then holding them accountable to that is a GOOD plan. It’s not warden-like. It’s how people work.”
I, of course, was not in a place to do anything about the policies at this point as I had since left the post.
Speaking of leaving a post, I said all of that to say this.
I still think I was right. And here’s why…
I wanted people to be a part of that organization because to NOT be a part of it would be unnatural. To NOT come to practice would sting and leave them without the high of being creative and collaborative and living life with others in that peculiar way.
The entire experience was a life blessing and few experiences will match it.
But with years of hindsight, maturity and new life happening to me I can very clearly say…that experience would have scarred people in the best way possible with the mark of greatness had I stuck to my guns. Or if I would have understood my guns.
People, I want to do life with you. But I only want to do what I love. And I only want you to do what you love. And where our passions meet, we will make beautiful things, experience rich life, and fall asleep each night exhausted on our pillows/couches/floors, having spent ourselves in spite of ourselves.
