Media of the Week - Brave - Sara Bareilles

When it comes to facing the world with it's choices and challenges it can be daunting to open up and put yourself out there. Often it seems so much easier to stay in the background, take a step back, and blend in with the scenery. Still, there comes a time when we all need to see "how big [our] brave is..." 

You can be amazing

You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug

You can be the outcast

Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love

Or you can start speaking up

Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do

When they settle ‘neath your skin

Kept on the inside and no sunlight

Sometimes a shadow wins

But I wonder what would happen if you

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

Everybody’s been there, everybody’s been stared down

By the enemy

Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing

Bowed down to the mighty

Don’t run, stop holding your tongue

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live

Maybe one of these days you can let the light in

Show me how big your brave is

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave

And since your history of silence

Won’t do you any good

Did you think it would?

Let your words be anything but empty

Why don’t you tell them the truth?

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

Any dream will do...

The world and I, we are still waiting

Still hesitating

Any dream will do 

-From: Any Dream Will Do (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber)

Image from: http://www.thelostogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/josephpanel.jpg

         From the first time I saw "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" it has been one of my favorite musical plays. I think part of the reason that "Joseph" resonates with me is the fact that it is ultimately a story about never giving up. It is a tale about taking what comes, facing fears, and making the best of any situation. In doing so, who knows the wonders that will be seen or the impact that can be had on the lives of countless others. It is the ultimate testament that good can come of evil. It is also a story of redemption and change. Joseph's brothers who had sold him into bondage in the end save young Benjamin from a similar fate, proving they "now were honest men" leading Joseph to "reunite them all again." 

      I think that we, like Joseph, often have dreams that have us wondering, waiting, and hesitating to see if they will come true. 

...any dream WILL do...

As a sidenote,  last weekend I had the opportunity to attend a performance of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Hale Centre Theatre in West Valley, Utah, with my mother, sisters, and a brother-in-law. I've seen the play several times and each time  I love it more. This particular performance was the second time I have seen it performed "in the round" and it was extremely well done.  After the performance we all gathered at Leatherby's from some delicious icy confections. An excellent way to end a wonderful day.