The other day I went to the cinema to watch “Tinā”, directed by Miki Magasiva. This is a deeply moving real story of a Samoan music teacher who lost her twenty-year-old daughter in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, in New Zealand. It is a story of how a woman found the courage to rediscover herself after such a terrible tragedy. I strongly recommend it.

When she was about to loose her pension, she reluctantly went to a job offer as a music teacher in a private school. With a lot of resistance from most of the school staff, this amazing woman ends up forming a choir and giving hope and a sense of belonging to teenagers who, despite coming from rich families, are also overcoming the tragic experience of the earthquake.

In a moving scene, Tinā comes out of the job interview and finds a teenager playing the piano in the school playground, trying to sing a beautiful Elton John song, but feeling discouraged. She has a nasty scar on her left hand and, after a few tries, stops playing. Later we learn that she used to love music but is going through a hard time and is on antidepressants. She will become a key character in the movie. But just then, she doesn’t believe she can play the song.

With her wonderful sense of peace and her deep longing to help, Tinā just sits at the piano next to the girl, and plays the song, giving her space to start singing again. And she sings, with a beautiful voice and a deep sense of longing and achievement. A beautiful atmosphere follows, where they reach a sense of passion, connection and, most importantly, hope, that reflects in the girl’s eyes. When they finish, she looks at Tinā, smiles, and then leaves, fears coming back again. It will take time for her to believe she can recover her passion for music and overcome her fears.

This beautiful scene made me reflect on what my role is as a coach, helping people rediscover their own passions. I am not there to take the instrument for you, or the brush or the pen. I am not there to provide you with passion. That all needs to come from you. My role is to sit next to you, to hold space, and to show you that you are able to do it, that everything is possible, and that you only need to believe in yourself.

I hope you find the courage to follow your passion, overcoming your fears and the need to please others. And if you are struggling, feel free to contact me. I am here to provide you with a hand to get where you want to be.

Link to 30 minutes free session: https://go.virtualinnovation.co.nz/widget/bookings/free-consult-nz-78e2093e-e1a4-4d5b-9819-f0972c214f22

Quote of the week

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain