Authentic Purpose and My Passion

          http://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Purpose-Tamilyn-Banno-ebook/dp/B00A7D12XE

My sister, Tamilyn Banno, recently wrote a wonderful little book called “Authentic Purpose”.  She asked if I would read some drafts before publishing, and do some editing.  I thought, “How cute, my little sister is writing a little book”.  Well, it turns out I was very profoundly taken by her written words.

There is a “quiz” in it, but not like any quiz I have ever taken…as a matter of fact, I hemmed and hawed before I finally agreed to do it; I thought I just didn’t have the time.  I wanted to edit what she had written; I didn’t have time for actually answering the questions!  It’s sort of like a Cosmo magazine quiz we used to take when we were young (What Are You Looking For In A Relationship..remember those?).

But I did take it….and as a result, my purpose in life has never been more clear.  I do a lot of different kinds of things to make a living, and getting the bills paid each month was about all I could think about…until I took that little quiz.  I realize that my “Authentic Purpose” is more than teaching or performing.  My real passion, as I’ve now discovered, is providing my students with an opportunity to perform…not just for the sake of showing mom and dad what they’ve been working on, but by helping them learn, through recitals, that life can be a little messy.

Recital pieces are rarely perfect.  They’re not; get over it.  Yes, we strive for excellence, of course we do; but the real measure of a person, I feel, is how they handle their mistakes. That is what I often focus on in my teaching, and a much happier lady I am for helping my students to understand that.