(which refers to your children)
This past weekend I took my son to see a Raffi concert at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.
First of all, I want to say there is NO SUCH THING as a bad seat in RTH, so if you ever have the privilege of seeing a concert there, by all means go right ahead! It's a beautiful building that deserves an applaud!
My son, since he was 2 years old, adores Raffi Cavoukian, the children's entertainer & advocate, global "troubadour", and founder of The Centre for Child Honouring. If you haven't heard of Child Honouring, PLEASE go to http://www.childhonouring.org/.
No word of a lie that I couldn't count on my hands how many times a week my son would want to watch one of the three Raffi DVD's he owned. He'd dress up like him (blue dress shirt, red tie, black pants all the way down to the dress shoes) and after drawing on his own face a moustache & beard, with a black ink pen of course, he'd grab his acoustic guitar and belt out wonderful children's songs, traditional and Raffi-written!
No word of a lie that I couldn't count on my hands how many times a week my son would want to watch one of the three Raffi DVD's he owned. He'd dress up like him (blue dress shirt, red tie, black pants all the way down to the dress shoes) and after drawing on his own face a moustache & beard, with a black ink pen of course, he'd grab his acoustic guitar and belt out wonderful children's songs, traditional and Raffi-written!
"Baaaaaby Beluuuuuga! Oh Baaaaby Beluuuga!
Sing your little song, sing for all your friends!
We like to hear you!"
He would lovingly sing along.
Those days passed on and now my son is 8. Occasionally, he'd pop that good ol' "Raffi: On Broadway" DVD in the player and sing along. But they were few and far between. I started to miss it all.
Then, Sunday morning, on Twitter, I noticed Raffi was playing in TO! After all those years of having no sign of a Raffi concert I just HAD to take my young musician to see it!
So there we were, sitting in Roy Thomson Hall in the R4 Mezzanine section...to me, it was considered "nosebleeds" as I've never sat anywhere other than orchestra (Yes spoiled little me! LOL). But there we were, waiting for Raffi and I don't know who was more excited, me or my son. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when Mr. Cavoukian came out and said an enthusiastic, "Hello, my friends!!!"
Anyways, concert was fantastic! After singing along to all the classics (yes, "Baby Beluga" was one of them) my son and I walked away from that concert not only entertained but inspired!
And this is my point for writing about the concert. What I hope my son really gets, as well as the rest of the children and families that listen to Raffi (whether in music or seminars), is that he is singing, educating, and lecturing from the heart and soul of who he is! And that is what he wants us to do. I really, really got that, and felt incredibly inspired to continue the work that I set out to do 11 + years ago, which was to help change the world, one massage at a time.
The children of this world are most important in this on-going goal. I believe truly in my heart, that all I have said in previous blogs, and many to come, about teaching children at a young age to take care of their own bodies, instilling in them that sense of self esteem & self awareness, empathy, respect, love and kindness...it WILL change the world.
Since watching the concert, I have come up with a logo and incredible ideas behind that logo to do what I have set out to do. And you can bet that the Covenant & Principals of Child Honouring are weaved into those ideas. Again, if you haven't read The Covenant, please go to: http://www.childhonouring.org/covenantprinciples.html
I have Raffi to thank when he sang his new verse for the "Beluga Grads" which goes:
“Now you’re grown and you’re on your way,
making waves in the boundless bay.
With your shining light and your dreams alive,
for the young you’ll have one day.
Grown up Beluga, grown up Beluga.
Sing a song of peace, sing with all your friends,
we need to hear you!"
As a lump came to my throat, I turned to my son and said, "Do you know why he sang, 'we need to hear you'?"
He says, "yes, the world needs to hear what you have to say, Mommy!"
He got it!
