A Treasure in the Room
I attended a beautiful concert by Sara Beth Thomas in a friend’s home this weekend. During her intro, she mentioned a familiar picture of an artist playing their heart out in the corner of a club while no one paid much attention at all.
As she played, I watched a room full of people 100% tuned in, 100% giving and 100% receiving.
And as I sat there, I pictured Sara Beth playing this exact same concert in the corner of that club — no one in the room aware of the treasure, the gift, she was creating.
But the thing is, I know she’d still do it. Not because she’s generous (although she is). Generosity isn’t enough reason to do all of that. She’d still do it because that’s who she is.
And that’s the gift, isn’t it?
Sara Beth would play her heart out in the corner of a club, and if the club weren’t there, she’d do it at home. The gift she shares with us isn’t her music. It’s her courage. Courage to be who she is, no matter what the circumstances. This time, she just happened to be doing it in a room where people chose to notice.
So the difference between the club and this living room wasn’t the music; it was the attention.
The people in this living room had decided to give their attention to Sara Beth — to the music — because these songs aren’t just Sara Beth’s songs. They’re our songs.
Which means the gift wasn’t only coming from Sara Beth. It was coming from the hosts, Ginger and Phil, who had the courage to be who they are by creating a space like that, and inviting us to turn our attention to the treasure right there in the room.
The gift of that night came from Sara Beth being who she is. It came from Ginger and Phil being who they are. It came from their courage. And it came from the audience’s courage to turn our attention to what was right there in the room.
We are all being invited — to do what Sara Beth and Ginger and Phil did. To do what we practiced as an audience that night. To be present. In life. To be who we are in life. Together.
Moments like this are valuable because they reconnect us to ourselves. They reconnect us to each other. They reconnect us to life. And they remind us who and what we really are.
Today, more than ever, this is what is needed. And it starts with us, with our attention. And with a 26-year-old brave, open soul, and a seasoned couple with the depth and understanding to know what matters — bringing us back together.