Smarty Pants has returned from the very chilly New York City. Cold aside, it was a great trip. As I anticipated, Spamalot was FABULOUS. Honestly, the best show I’ve ever seen on Broadway. Very well done, great singing, and of course, very funny. Hank Azaria and David Hyde Pierce were phenomenal – everyone was. The lead female role of the Lady of the Lake was one that Madeline Kahn would have made her own twenty years ago.
Coconuts and shrubberies aside, one of the songs on the soundtrack was the inspiring (if any of the songs on the soundtrack could be taken seriously) “Find Your Grail” sung by the Lady of the Lake after God charged King Arthur and his knights with their holy quest.
“If you trust in your soul
Keep your eyes on the goal
Then the prize you won’t fail
That’s your Grail
That’s your Grail.
So be strong
Keep right on
To the end of your song
Do not fail
Find your Grail
Find your Grail.
Life is really up to you
You must choose what to pursue
Set your mind on what to find
And there’s nothing you can’t do
So keep right to the end
You’ll find your goal my friend
You won’t fail
Find your Grail
Find your Grail
Find your Grail”
- Lady of the Lake, “Find Your Grail” written by Eric Idle and John du Prez
I found this song inspiring – slightly more so than “He Is Not Dead Yet” or the “Fisch Schlapping Song.” Cheesy British humor aside, it had a really good message. In the play, the characters each search not only for the actual grail, but their “grail” within themselves. I think for many of us on that lurk on the Playground, our Grail is the SALE. Getting that call from the editor that they want to buy our book and seeing it in print on a bookshelf at the mall. It’s the one thing that we have chosen to strive for.
Keep your eyes on you goal and you won’t fail…find your grail.
I think that’s what we’re really doing here on the Playground. Although it can sometimes be a distraction from the actual process of writing, it is helping us focus on our Grail – bringing us that much closer. And if we keep our focus, there’s no way that we won’t eventually succeed.
Wow. Life lessons from Monty Python. Who knew? So…what’s your Grail?
SP
5 comments:
Glad to see that you're back, SP. Spamalot sounds fantastic. At some point in the near future I need to treat myself to a trip to NYC....
As for my grail...work, books and writing aside, it would have to be my family.
Family comes first -- especially the grandbaby on the way. And you can see a new belly photo here.
Sales make nice grails too. I'm learning though not to hang so many dreams on it that I lose the joy in writing. Pressure has a way of stomping my grails flat.
Wow, a new motto for the Playground. I see t-shirts with OUR GRAIL IS A SALE on the front.
Although, I'm starting to feel like I really need Indiana Jones on my team....
PC
Oh God, I've gone philosophical on you again.
My Grail? In a song by Creed, Scott Stapp sings What's This Life For. Besides being a wife and mother, I often wonder who I really am. I struggle with the idea that I'm on this earth for a greater purpose. Is that egomania? Self grandeur? Or does that feeling have true merit? Am I destined to write a potentially life altering book? A book that can heal rifts, ease suffering, soothe heartache and loneliness? And does that matter?
Perhaps my tenure on earth isn't to rise to glorious popularity but to set an example to my children, family and friends, and to prove that goals are attainable if earnestly sought.
Searching for the Holy Grail. We all do it, yet each man's Grail is different. Perhaps that's the lesson we should glean from Dan Brown's work. That life is full of endless possibility and divine inspiration derived from the choices we make each day.
What if? Will I do myself credit when I find the Grail? Will I find it? Or like historical evidence hidden from sight for thousands of years, will that ever be discovered?
Kathy
I hear you PM - I think my grail is really to be happy. If I sell - that will make me happy. If I don't sell - I can find other ways of being happy. Happy is very often sent to the bottom of the list of priorities with money and a hot body ranking higher.
But a sale sure would be nice...
SP
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