What do I Want: Answers! And When do I Want Them: Now!

Dear Silkies,

This week’s post is all about patience. Patience is a required quality for life in general and especially for aerial silks. Read on, dear friends, read on. Remember, patience is required here, too.

Mama Silk chose this week’s topic based on a comment she received to her “Where Can I Buy My Own Silk?” post. I’ll refer to my correspondent as “E”.

E writes: June 8, 5:10pm
“I really would love to buy one. I’ve been looking into these for a couple of months now! How and what do I have to do in order to purchase one?”

Doing her due diligence to make sure E is a qualified aerialist ready to work on her own, within a few hours, Mama Silk replies,
“Hi E, Thanks for your interest. Who do you train with and how long have you been training? Let me know!
Thanks, ~Heather”

To which E replies:
“Do you have to be training with one to own one? I’ve never actually trained I’ve just played on one before?”

Mama Silk doesn’t immediately reply to this question because:
a) she’s at a big gig out-of-state gig on June 9 and attends a once-in-a-lifetime ceremony for her beloved on June 10th
b) the answer to this question is in the original post

Then Mama Silk gets two spam emails from E, and decides the whole thing is a bust.

Until Mama Silk gets this BLAST in large font and all caps:
E, June 12:
“umm hello , were you ever going to respond its so totally rude, i emailed you and yo emailed me hours later! COME ON NOW!”

Mama Silk can see that E needs more advice than just where to buy a silk…
Mama Silk, June 12:
My dear, E. Easy does it, please. My experience is that I draw more bees with honey than with impatience. When I give someone the benefit of the doubt, things usually work better for me and the other person.

My 4-day response time is not based in rudeness. Rather, I had a huge out-of-state performance I was preparing for with six performers, and an important family occasion to attend. I did not see any indication from your initial email that an urgent response was required. I have also since received some spam from your email address and thought perhaps the request wasn’t genuine. It appears, however, you are quite alive and well.

I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that your abrupt tone is due to your eagerness to learn silks and your inexperience in professional business communications, rather than any rudeness on your part.

That said, the quickest response to your question can be found in the blog post you responded to. I’ll repeat the gist of it here: Aerial silks is an incredibly beautiful and an incredibly dangerous art form. Only those students who have proven themselves to be responsible, reliable, strong and mature enough in their training get the answer to the question ‘where can I buy my own silk’.

Since you indicated you are not training with a qualified instructor and have only ‘played around a bit’, I am not comfortable providing you with the information. Safety is paramount when it comes to aerial silks, and based on what you told me (and how you said it) my professional opinion is that you are not ready to train on your own.

My apologies, E. Mama Silk says, ‘request denied’, for your protection and mine.

Get yourself to some classes with an experienced qualified instructor, and perhaps after a couple of years of dedicated training, you’ll be ready.

I’d be pleased to recommend some great places to train. Where are you located?

Yours in pull ups and aerial love,
Mama Silk.”

Mama Silk had her flak jacket at the ready the next time she opened her email. And was pleasantly surprised by this:
E, June 13, 1:04pm
“Thank you, Mama Silk! I am located in Johnson County Kansas! Do yo have any ideas where I couls start training! Tecnicully I have been training for tree years. But due to my leg injury I hadnt been on silks for about a month now! I train with Joe B. (last named edited out) downtown at the Plaza. Now that I’ve provided you with my information, now could you tell me where I could purchase some ! ? ! ?”

Mama Silk, June 13, 10pm
I will put up a post to see about teachers in your area. I will get back to you in about a week.

E, June 14, 8:21 am
“NVM you don’t have to help ! Do waste your breathe. I don’t need you . I’ll find someone else who can help me!”

Is there really a reply Mama Silk could give E at this point that would satisfy her? Will it make a difference to E that posts to the Yahoo trapeze group sometimes take a day or two to get to, and then sometimes it takes people a couple of days to answer? Mama Silk thinks not.

So what is the moral of this story, my dear silkies?

A proper attitude towards life and your aerial training will make a big difference in not only how pleasant each day is, but in the types of relationships and experiences you cultivate along the way. And ultimately, your patience, respect of others and yourself, and your diligence will pay off big time. Remember, how you behave in the studio or over email is probably a reflection of who you are in your life. What kind of life do you want? What kind of person do you want to be? Mama Silk learned some of these lessons the hard way. And she hopes you don’t have to.

What to we want: Answers! And, all we have is: NOW! Make your NOW the best it can be!

Yours in love, life and aerial flight.

Mama Silk