Authority & Power

Loaded words.

As artists, as singers, as performers, we must know the differences in ourselves and in the situations we find ourselves in.

A person, a place, an institution can have “authority”, but it doesn’t mean you relinquish your power to them/it.

As artists, we lean into discovering authority. It can be a murky line sometimes, especially when we are not yet clear about our boundaries. We need to find the people we can trust in order to continue to build the instrument we are discovering; to continue to keep that instrument healthy; to continue to explore the craft we are pursuing; This doesn’t mean we aren’t part of the equation!

Finding those mentors, teachers, coaches who have “authority” should mean a safe place to learn and discover. This should be a place where you are elevated. This does not mean sunshine is blown up your nose! The space should be collaborative: you have a say; you have a voice in the conversation; what you sense, feel, observe, respond with, MATTERS.

The “authority” factor is simply from the guidance. Authority is not taken by, but rather, bestowed upon by the singer. At least that’s my take. Authority is earned through knowledge, expertise and how that is used in the space. A singer can thank me for what I am doing for them, and my first response is simply “but YOU are doing the work”. This is the healthy collaboration between one who holds space with knowledge, compassion, empathy, and one who enters and begins to trust the process. That trust is EARNED not assumed.

However, that idea of authority also needs to begin with the artist/singer themselves. Your personal authority gives you permission to explore and discover and do the work. It doesn’t mean you will know all things. None of us do! It means you bring your author-ship, your life, your voice, your being, into the space in order for it to mingle and discover what else is possible!

This, to me, is the healthy, anchored, grounded energy that allows a truly magical and honest exchange to occur! When anchored authority meets authentic authority the truth is unstoppable!

It is up to both of us - teacher/mentor and singer - to acknowledge how we embody this in ourselves, and how we share it with each other.

Power? That’s a whole other thing. Nobody takes your power unless you give it to them.

Read that again.

So often I see singers who have been negatively manipulated and hurt and have survived, but feel so guilty. YOU DID NOTHING WRONG. If someone is trying to take power away from you, that is on them. Not you. If someone in authority makes a conscious decision to use that authority to play mind and emotional games with someone and try to have power over them, that’s criminal. Period.

If you have survived it, exhale and give yourself a moment of grace. You did nothing wrong.

Now, you can know the difference. Now you can make more informed choices. Now you can recognize the difference between authority and power.

The power is and should always be, yours.

If you start saying “but…” quickly ask yourself “why?”

There better be a good answer. If there’s not, release the but and find out why.

Claim your power. Stand in it even if you are shaking. True power embraces true power. True authority wants conversation. True power is a sovereign state of being. Anything other than that, isn’t worth your time nor your energy.

Claiming your personal authority and power doesn’t mean you have to know it all. You don’t. None of us do. It will, however, allow you to create boundaries that keep you safe yet pliable to learn and explore. Even with yourself. It will allow you to lean into resistance without fear, and to lean into spaces that may feel new or awkward to see how you might inhabit them.

Artist challenges need safe spaces to explore and make choices, and make more choices again. This is how we discover our authenticity, our truth, our creative energy, our ability to inhabit who we are and what we have.

Play with that; sift through that; discover what that means to you. Then find that space with another authority who can mirror back you what you need to see in order to discover MORE!

with fondness & fierceness,