A new version of the musical, “The Lion King,” has opened on broad way, and it is bound to surpass the musical of thirty years ago. Have you ever heard the story about how Elton John came to write the music for “The Lion King?” He is well known from his rock-n-roll beginnings in the 1970’s, but what most people do not know is why he stopped singing for a year. He had misused his voice so much by hard scream-singing over his band that vocal nods developed on his vocal cords. After surgery where his cords were cut and the damaged areas taken out and stapled back together, his British medical team said, “No more singing for a year.” In that year, Elton wrote the music for “The Lion King;” his loss became a win for himself and millions of people around the world. When you hear the song, “The Circle of Life,” realize that there is life after death, after loss, just as God creates new life from every living thing. From the dust will rise something more beautiful.
How do you fill the void when you lose someone? You fill that void with beauty, joy, and love. You fight the sadness and darkness from overcoming you. You create beauty where there are no colors. You bring joy where there is sadness. You love those who have none. In short, you do everything in your power to make this world a better place for someone else.
Life and death are parts of life. How we react to loss is a part of the circle of life. I have had my share of loss; some would say I have had more than my fair share. My parents are no longer with me; I miscarried my only child. Both my second and third husbands have passed, one from a massive heart attack and one from esophageal cancer. And then just ten months ago, my first husband died from COVID. I am now like Johann Sebastian Bach who outlived his three spouses.
There is no more precious gift to the world than to help others face their losses and to gain hope in their lives. For me, I hope my music has brought beauty to all who hear it. I hope my writing has brought joy to those who find meaning in words of inspiration and comfort. I hope my students have grown from my love for them and from my love of teaching. It is my profound prayer that all the peoples of the world will learn to give rather than receive, for it is in the giving that we find the love to fill the holes of our lives.
“Fill the void,” you say? Fill the void with every ounce of caring, compassion, patience, faith, and unconditional love that you have. Through our acts of kindness, all can come to know that “all things are possible with God.” With Him, there is only light. With Him, we are a part of the ever-changing tapestry of the interwoven circle of life, and like “The Lion King,” we learn to hold each other’s hands.
Anna Hartt
