Grace Note
Grace Note (n) a small, light, seemingly inconsequential note that gives emphasis to the note that follows.
It’s a cliché but also a truism that humanity is in peril. We’re at a crossroads in which left or right is becoming less relevant. Do we move forwards into the unknown, unmapped territory of creativity, or backwards into tribalism, division, conspiracy and stupidity. The choices we make now, are huge and consequential, both for the planet and for future generations.
We need help from a higher intelligence if we’re going to make it.
Unfortunately, the gifts of higher intelligence have been diminished by words and definitions. We think creativity is the exclusive preserve of egocentric entrepreneurs or creative directors, rather than a supernatural force that comes, not from us, but through us… after all, where do new ideas come from?
We think grace is a gift from a capricious God who may or may not bestow it to us lesser mortals on a whim. We sing “Amazing grace, that saved a wretch like me”… the subtext being that God owns this grace and we (the wretched) are unworthy of it.
But what if grace is something we all have access to, something we can all bestow on each other in small random acts of kindness… like paying for someone else’s groceries before walking away.
What if we literally wrote grace notes to strangers… little notes reminding them that they are loved, beautiful, talented, gifted, that they have courage, strength or the power to make it through whatever challenges they are enduring. What if we handed them out to people in the street, before walking away.
We could all get to play God, dispensing grace as we go, because surely by now we can reach some sort of agreement that God isn’t external, isn’t an alpha male in the sky… it’s the part of us that is creative and loving. We all have the power to “make someone’s day” and not in an arrogant, cool, Clint Eastwood sort of way.
The question we need to ask now isn’t “Do you feel lucky punk?” it’s “Do you want to be cool, or kind?” Can we make kind the new cool?
We’ve reached the end of the road for the Faustian pact of Aggressive masculine/Passive aggressive feminine. It’s time to bring in the dynamic feminine… in all of us. We’re entering the energy age, and energy isn’t gender specific.
We just need to crack the old structure. Not with a wrecking ball. We need the crack Leonard Cohen spoke about, the one that lets the light in. We want the quick flick of a grace note, the one that stands just outside any standard time signature.
The ancient greeks had two words for time — Chronos, meaning time that is chronological or sequential, and Kairos meaning the perfect time for action… an opportune moment. The “now” moment.
That moment happened at the inauguration when Amanda Gorman took the podium with poise, intelligence, heart, soul, passion, love, and in a word… grace.
It might have been Biden’s day but Amanda Gorman provided the grace note. She set the scene, and created the moment that allowed the light in. She’s a wayfinder for a generation.
There have been lots of speeches about coming together, about the need for unity, for laws and strategies that create a fairer future. So many words. But these days we’re drowning in words, in content, articles, videos, social media. Our brains can no longer process all the “he said/she said”; the “yeah but…” or the “what’s the point?” (in both senses of the word).
We’ve all allowed politicians and corporations to own the conversation, all allowed ourselves to become spectators watching the world through a glass darkly.
Amanda Gorman had no wealth or privilege, but she did have one thing in her favour — a fabulous parent… which (it turns out) was enough. We could all be that for any child or teenager. Imagine the power and the potential. We could all be that encourager of dreams, that cheerleader, that mentor. There has never been more need… and never been more resources.
We have direct access to immense amounts of creativity and love. We’re in Kairos time now.
Instead of observing and commenting on the endless conspiracies of the dark, we could be the light in someone else’s darkness.
Instead of petitioning God’s help, we could remember that… we are the help.
Instead of Same old song… we could all be the grace notes.
