The first time I ever attended the JUNO Awards was truly inspiring. It was 2013, in Regina, Saskatchewan. I made the road-trip from Winnipeg. It was my first time involved with the JUNOs as the manager of a nominated artist who was also showcasing, and presenting an award at the Gala Dinner.
The quantity and quality of talent descending upon the city was immense, with the next wave of upcoming artists alongside bigger known names in Canadian music. There were nearly 100 nominees on the ballot with first-time JUNO Award nominations, and an abundance of excitement in the air.
The weekend was a whirlwind, with magic happening everywhere, and many moments of serendipity. However, it wasn’t until I was driving back home to Winnipeg, alone with my thoughts, that I realized just how inspiring it all had been. That I had been privy to a chain of inspiration that unintendedly included me, too. And it all went down like this.
On Saturday night at the Gala Dinner, the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award was presented to Tom Cochrane. First his daughter spoke onstage, about how he inspired her throughout her life. Then it was Tom’s turn to speak. He inspired the whole room with sincere words and a glimpse into his genuine personality and selfless heart.
More unexpected inspiration
Next morning after a late night, I attended hot yoga with friends. It was a difficult class for me, while my friend Sara sailed through poses with ease and grace! It’s something she worked hard at, and the progress showed. All I could think was, how impressive. She unknowingly inspired me to want to spend more time practicing yoga.
At the JUNO Awards pre-reception that evening, I was standing nearby with friends when Tom Cochrane walked in! After his incredibly memorable appearance the night before, we wanted to have our picture taken with him. So I approached him, and proceeded to tell him how inspired we were by his words the night before.
“My friend Don here is a musician,” I told him, “Would you take a picture with him?” “For sure,” he said. Then he posed with Melissa, another friend. I was feeling a little shy, and was about to walk away when Tom put his hand on my arm and looked right at me. “Do you want a picture, too?” he asked.
Absolutely! As I stepped in close, I recited to him a line I had memorized from his speech the night before: “Humanitarianism is the practice of the ethics of kindness and compassion.” I thanked him for inspiring us with his music and messages. “Thank you,” Tom said. “That’s pretty great you remembered that. You inspire me.”
Wow, I was pretty floored. In that moment, my JUNO adventure was complete. I couldn’t possibly be any more inspired! But little did I know that the best was yet to come. Even better than meeting so many deserving people with JUNO Award nominations. And it didn’t come from a close friend or a well-known musician. Nope.
You never know who is watching
It came from Richelle, from Saskatoon. Someone I’d met once before, a few years earlier, at another music event. In fact, I didn’t even recognize her when we sat down at the same table that evening. But after chatting for a few minutes I totally remembered her, and how much we had enjoyed hanging out when we met. We’ve been Facebook friends ever since.
Then, right out of the blue, she turns from me and declares to everyone else at the table: “RoseAnna inspired me to start running!” I was again floored. “Really??? How?”
“All your posts about rowing and running made me want do something. So I started running.” Wow. Again, I’m taken by surprise. Happy she told me that. And making my day more than anyone else.
Knowing that I inspired someone to make a positive life change turned out to be my favourite encounter of the whole entire weekend. So much so that it got me thinking during that drive home from Regina about what inspiration actually is. What it means. How it works. How infectious it can be. And, I’ve come to one conclusion.
It’s okay to dance like no one’s watching, as long as you’re also living like someone’s looking. Because you just never know when someone might notice you, or your words, or your pictures. When you might inspire someone just by being you, doing what you do.
You just never know who you might inspire. It could be an admired musician with multiple JUNO Award nominations. A good friend with extraordinary yoga abilities. A casual colleague who is making positive choices to change her life. Or even a random stranger. Because you just never know.
And that’s the thing that’s most inspiring of all.
