Don't Let It Get You

I’m sensing a trend and I don’t think I like it. Throughout my career I’ve heard the phrases “going in another direction,” or “going to the next level,” used any number of times, they are always euphemisms for “we need more money.” Living in such a scary and uncertain economy can lead us all to constantly think about money, right, living with no money leads us to constantly fight about money. Don’t let it get you, don’t let it become about the money. I would humbly suggest that we all remember why we came, all of us, artists, staff and board every day, remember that we came here to do something meaningful, to create something where there was nothing and to make the world a better place through art. Nothing less. What an extraordinary purpose, what lofty goals, what could possibly be harder? These very public break downs of communications within organizations are about people and personalities and money. It’s never about art, we are doing great art, we are fulfilling our mission, we are accomplishing what we came to accomplish. Isn’t that something? Keep it together people, next time you sit down together don’t think about it as art vs. profit, board vs. staff, us vs. them no matter who the us is and who the them is. Sit down and look at what you’ve done together, how far you’ve come and remember WHY you came. Then figure it out. You can do it.

Deb