A Little Sunday Inspiration…

Legendary choreographer Martha Graham to Agnes de Mille who was bothered when her work on the musical Oklahoma!—that she thought was only so-so—was widely praised:

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”

Authority is rather like that. Keep producing, because only you can express it this way.

Bonus: to see/hear this spoken to music, enjoy Meryl Streep and Yo-Yo Ma here at the 1:40 minute mark (and don’t miss the end for what happens when two virtuosos thank each other for their performance).