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Be The One Who Shows Up

Embracing and Honoring The Supporting Role

Diane Aoki
4 min readJul 2, 2024
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

You Appreciate Me? Thanks!

I had a revelation the other day. Being the one who shows up is a worthy role to take on. Being someoneʻs audience has value! It happened at a film showing that I attended at the recent Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture. This festival had all manner of culture — from different forms of traditional and contemporary arts and culture, including independent film-making. I have a passion for indie films, so I spent a lot of time watching films from all over the Pacific. There was usually a panel after a film or a series of films. At one of these panels, which was at the end of a long series of short films, a filmmaker made a point to thank us, the die-hards in the audience, for our attendance and perseverance.

Embracing the Role as Supporter

I had heard this before at other events, but this time, I really took it to heart. I got it. I understood. I felt the mutuality. I take in your work as your audience. You love that I was there to receive it. If felt transformative. I can be that person. I can be the One Who Shows Up. I had been looking for some kind of focus and this was it.

Art for Art’s Sake

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Diane Aoki
Diane Aoki

Written by Diane Aoki

Playwright, essayist, teacher, artist, songwriter, poet. Creativity Activist.

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