bebereader
djafan
voiceadmin
The thing about David I can’t quite stop thinking about is his unhurriedness. It’s in his attitude: I am just a kid, I don’t know about a lot of things. I am not even supposed to know about all those things yet, but I’m looking forward to learning about them in my future, when the time is right. David is not in a huge rush to do grown up things. It is remarkable that though he likes to stay busy and productive, this attitude of unhurriedness is present in everything he does. You can hear it in his singing, in the way he attends to each note with deliberation and patience. It is there in the way he treats people. He takes the time to be kind and when you talk with David he looks at you and gives you his full attention. He listens not only to what you say but to what your heart can not. In his lack of hurry he often ignores those who are. Even in the way he talks… he will patiently persevere through his own awkwardness with words to make sure he is completely understood when it is important to him. On the other hand, he will wait quietly and not interrupt or rush in to correct someone when it is not. Like politely listening to Kathy Lee Gifford with her Josh Groban advice and replying, “Oh, yeah?” and then zipping his lip and smiling. Hah! Beautiful moment.
I’ve heard it said that some people get their power from having things, some from doing things and some from BEING. David is a BE-er. He could be a doer with that talent and that voice, but his identity is not wrapped up in that, I think. His Identity is in the YOU AND I, to quote the Riddle, of the present moment, a sensibility which I think we are all born with until we are about five and then it slips away. David has retained this quality, and I think it is part of what makes him “child like” but not childish. David’s conscious efforts to be pure and true to himself, and his efforts to guard his heart, mind, soul, and mouth, empower him to be without guile, to be generous with sincere affection and to live in the moment. Following in the steps of the great “I am,” he is the quintessential, existential, “to be.” He walks the walk and makes it look easy. Why does the phrase, “walk this way” from Young Frankenstein come to mind?
Maybe that is how we walk now.
This trait of living not in the past or rushing toward the future but unhurriedly being in the NOW, is so rare in our entitled twenty-something generation and those who follow, but David is such a great role model. It’s a powerful thing in him. I have great hopes for his younger fans. And I have learned a lot from his example that I hope to apply.
I am learning to hurry less and to be more in the moment. To let go of the past and not be afraid of the future. This being in the now brings with it an increased sense of thankfulness. So I am thankful. To David’s parents who disciplined David without destroying his spirit. To Dean Kaelin, who taught David to respect his gift, helped him find and expand it, and mentored David toward a professional career in music. To all those Sunday school teachers, Boy Scout leaders, and other kids’ parents, who affirmed in David the goodness of good. To all his siblings, who are as much a part of David as he is of them. To his business managers who have done a great job of presenting and guiding David throughout this whirlwind year. And to his friends, old and new, who support and encourage David and with whom he feels at home. Most of all, I am thankful to David, for showing me, despite his youth and the prevalence of ageism in our society, the way to be.
“Let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12
The Voice David Archuleta 