RHEMA's HOMECOMING was all about "LOOKS"

"I don't do well with big crowds"; "I need to stay home and work", "I'm just not in the mood".

These were just a few of the excuses I came up with to try and avoid going to the "Homecoming Celebration" organised for Rhema Varrie in Eden Park this past Saturday.  My Bestie - Glisson was part of the organising team and naturally that means he could find a task for me at the drop of a hat.  In fact he tried to persuade me to MC earlier on in the day and I wormed my way out of that one too.

Nevertheless, there I was eventually. I arrived late enough to not be roped into anything and blended into the crowd right at the back so that I didn't seem like a groupie.

For those who don't know; Rhema Varrie recently came third in SA IDOLS after being eliminated when he didn't make the final 2 - even though he had over 4 million votes and (in my opinion) has one of the richest voices I have heard in the competition in years.

Back to the "Homecoming Celebration"...

SO there I was in the back of the crowd; trying to blend in, taking a few pics on my phone and even offering up the occasional cheer.  But throughout the entire celebration while all the festivities were happening and the singing continued on stage, I was completely distracted, and so Rhema's program on stage constantly had to compete with my two main distractions:
1. My own emotions, and
2. The many people who caught my attention.

For purposes of where this post is going, I would like to focus on the latter.

Standing in one of the school corridors slightly behind me, she unintentionally caught my attention.  She just stood their amidst all the shouting, cheering and dancing.  The ordinary lady.  She stood there looking straight ahead and not saying a single word - not even to the lady next to her.  There was a slight smile on her face but what caught my attention more was the look in her eyes.

I was jolted back to reality by the announcement that Rhema's dad was about to take the stage and say a few words, and then it happened again...

Standing with her hand in the air throughout Mr Varrie's speech, was my next distraction.  The random mother in the "Vote for Rhema T-Shirt" who I can tell must have spent hundreds of rands on airtime to vote via sms.  Her reactions were boisterous and passionate as she tried to identify with the pride expressed by Rhema's dad but the look in her eyes was the exact same one I noticed only seconds before in the other lady's.

And so these distractions just kept popping up.  And then I realised that every person who had grabbed my attention had that same look.  The teenage mother with the toddler on her hip as well as the old man raising his can of black label as he sang all his own words because the contents of his can gave him all the confidence he needed to completely let go of all his inhibitions and just enjoy the moment.

The primary school kid trying to worm his way closer to the front to get a better view of the stage and the high school learner who didn't care about being cool for just those few minutes; - they had that look too.

The old lady with the swollen feet sitting on a specially arranged chair had the same look as the visibly drug intoxicated 20-something year old guy who probably hadn't even watched a single episode of Idols.

I had to force myself to stop staring at all theses people and so I took Arlene by the hand and we worked our way to a spot right by the stage.  We got there just as Rhema started singing his last song.  The song was "I Love You Daddy" by Ricardo who had just passed on 2 days earlier and so there was no way this entire community wasn't going to sing along.  I was the only one not singing because at that point I just couldn't ignore "Distraction number 1 " anymore, and so I just completely lost it and sobbed.

I sobbed, not because of the song, but because with a better view of the crowd from where I was now standing, I realised now what that look was. 

The look I kept noticing was actually in the eyes of every person there.
It was a look that was the same yet it was different.

 For some the look was one of hope for a better future for their own children while for others it was one of pride that they could share in the success of an ordinary boy from down the road.  For some the look was a longing that one day they too could be on a stage like this or have the chance to walk where Rhema has walked recently, while for others it was a look filled with regret for the talent they had wasted or the opportunities they have missed.

But the look was created by the same thing. . . and then I realised why it had grabbed my attention.  The look in all of those eyes was created by A DREAM. 

Perhaps a future dream, or perhaps a dying one. Perhaps a dead dream, or perhaps one buried under fear.  Perhaps a dream ignored because of overwhelming circumstances and internal voices shouting that it is too late. Every person who had shown up for a what they thought was a celebration for Rhema, was actually there because of the dream inside of each of them. 

And then I realised how our lives and our dreams are so much more about other people and not ourselves.  Rhema had to chase his dream and even face the disappointment of being eliminated and now having to take a detour to the final destination of his own dream, in order to show an entire community that they too CAN DREAM AGAIN. 

I realised how he may not even be aware of the magnitude of the responsibility he has.  So many people's destinies are now locked up in where he ends up and that is such an overwhelming responsibility, but as he improvised and changed the vocal arrangement of the song to suit his own range and to customise the message he wanted to bring across in the song, I realised that like him, every one of us already has everything we need inside of us to achieve our dreams.  We simply need to wake up to it and then chase after it with all of our hearts. 

I left sad, but I left happy.  I left helpless, but I left hopeful.  But above all, I left grateful.
I am grateful that I know without a doubt what it is that I am meant to do in this world and I am even more grateful for the opportunity to help others discover this for themselves too.

Thank you Rhema Varrie for chasing your dream.  Your dream is my dream, and the dream of so many others.

Be inspired.

Darren