“To fly, we have to have resistance.”
Maya Lin
“Now I know we had no money
But I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My mama made for me.”
“Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton
Hearing how one creative artist is motivated by another always gives me a boost—we all need to dip into someone else’s creative well now and then for a shot of energy and creativity. That’s why I loved reading about how a sitcoms actress became a huge Dolly Parton fan. Growing up in Texas, she listened to Dolly on the radio and came to admire her gifts as a singer-songwriter, especially her song about her “struggles coming up hard, “Coat of Many Colors.”
“Coat” tells the story of how Dolly’s mother sewed together colorful rags to make her a winter coat and told her daughter not to be ashamed of wearing it because being poor was just a state of mind.
Though the sitcoms actress “never wanted for anything,” her family also struggled and hearing Dolly’s song gave her heart. As she recalled, “Dolly’s courage on ‘Coat’ also helped me become an actress. The words took my focus off the superficial stuff and the discomfort of starting out and let me focus on what I needed to do to be good enough. Despite Dolly’s background, she was able to find her self-worth, work hard, and become special.”
What a tribute to the power of words! We never know how the songs or stories we write will find their way into someone else’s heart and show them a rainbow path they might not have seen or followed without us. Through our words, we can give each other wings. So let’s soar together today. Let’s fly high as we all write on!
