I sing in a large community choir, and I really admire the approach and artistry our conductor brings to leading us.
Sometimes we rehearse a section of music that is still relatively new to us, or perhaps a part we haven’t visited in a while. We can usually sing the core of it, but there are still some obvious mistakes along the way. When we run through sections like that, our conductor often pauses and says something like, “There are a lot of good things happening in there.”
No one is under the impression that we didn’t make mistakes. We know when things are messy. But he has a way of lifting up what is working and helping us recognize that we are making progress. He will certainly tell us when we are way off, though we usually know that ourselves. Still, very often he chooses first to name what is going well.
I was thinking about that recently, because there are times when we get into a rut and forget to notice that a lot of things are actually working. This isn’t to say we should deny the things in our individual lives or in our shared life that are struggling or unjust. Of course we need to name those things clearly.
But sometimes we begin to treat those challenges as if they are the whole story — as if they are fixed, total, and immovable. And the truth is, that’s rarely the case.
Often, there are a lot of good things happening in there. I wonder where we might be able to notice that in ourselves and in one another. Maybe we need that reminder.
—Renee Roederer
Smuggling Grace 