Owls have become trendy over the years.  They’re cute. They’re smart. They’re  powerful and their heads turn almost all the way around.  I’ve liked owls well enough but recently I have become a bit obsessed with them for on r simple reason: presence.  

Last week I saw an owl close up, in real life, not in captivity for the first time I can remember.  Now, I check daily for ‘my’ owl.  I beg the kids to let me stop and check on it any time we drive remotely or not so remotely nearby. 

It got me thinking about the arts.  The thing about this owl is that it breathes extra life into me. There’s an odd sort of adrenaline you get from seeing it face to face.  The same thing is true for theatre, dance and music.  The feeling you can get by seeing a live performance can’t be explained it just has to be experienced.  Even if you have been to live performances hundreds or dozens of times, if it has been a while go and remind yourself what it feels like.  Nothing compares to sitting in an audience vip seats or cheap ‘nosebleed’ seats and spending an evening or matinee in a room with artists sharing their work.

We live in a city filled with talent from Broadway in Boston, Boston Ballet, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Lyric Opera to all the talent and performances by our top notch students at Berklee, New England Conservatory, Longhy School of Music at Bard College, Boston University, MIT (love those MIT Logs) just to name a few.

Make a commitment to get outside and play this spring. Take time to stop and smell the flowers, to take a walk in the woods, and to attend a performance.