We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Robin Fay Massie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Robin Fay below.
Robin Fay , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Success is a relative term. Often, success is equated with financial gain or notoriety, a by-product of busyness and self-promotion. In today’s culture of overnight fame and quick results, I have learned to make peace with the growth process — as a young woman, daughter, mother, artist, nurse, and friend. Growth in and of itself is painful and requires development in obscurity. In that valley, I can seek safety. I can ask those perplexing existential questions. I can wrestle with God Himself, only to take His gentle hand and be led down a new path. I lean upon those who serve as mentors — those who patiently listen to me, pray with me, advise, admonish, challenge, and embrace me whether I am strong or weak. Such quiet moments of hibernation or cocooning have preserved and prepared me for what is next … every single time.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As a shy child at ages four and five, I announced that I wanted to be a nurse and an artist! I would dance about the house, singing television jingles, imitating famous personalities, and filling my notebooks with drawings. My parents perceived purpose in my musical forays at the piano and immediately enrolled me in lessons. Later, they sacrificed to allow me to take private violin and viola lessons. Self-expression became a vehicle for self-discovery and, ultimately, self-mastery.
Plainly speaking, as a shy, young, African-American girl in beginning orchestra classes, I did not look like my classmates… or even my teachers. Furthermore, as a little girl, I only saw one black female doctor — a brilliant and kind woman, the mother of my childhood friends. Faith taught me that I didn’t necessarily have to see it to believe it was possible. That still, small voice within my spirit encouraged me to press onward.
Years after completing my graduate education in music, I wrestled once more with the idea of Purpose. Following a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, driven by images of displaced families and devastation, I founded Musicians of Mercy (MOM) in January 2010 – a collective of musicians and artists, producing benefit concerts to raise funds for humanitarian causes. A very raw and grassroots effort, I knew my friends and I could use our time and talents to improve life for others in need. In so doing, we all fulfilled an incredible sense of belonging. Although an explosive season of personal creativity and joy, at home, married life was unhappy and, at times, turbulent. I found healing and comfort in my community and in sharing my God-given gifts. Coming face to face with Pain, I began to uncover the thread that binds all of us and find beauty in it.
Amid this season of productivity, I yearned to embrace the Purpose to which God called me as a small child. Terrified, I placed one foot in front of the other and started a new chapter: nursing school! Although my marriage fell apart, I clung to my faith in God. Upon graduating as a newly-divorced single mother and nurse, I understood that nursing and music were not separate but part of the same spectrum of compassionate artistry.
Is my life perfect by any means? No! I will always make my share of mistakes. Yet, today, I am doing exactly what God promised me as a four-year-old child. Whether I step onto a stage, into a classroom, or a hospital room, I draw upon the lessons learned in the practice room. Guided by the wisdom of my mentors. I represent my family and the teachers and ancestors who preceded me. To live as a healer is to place a finger on the pulse of society; then, respond in love.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
As a child, I somehow believed I was born to heal people. Between ages four and five, I boldly stated that I wanted to be a musician and a nurse. I would spend hours daydreaming, drawing, and singing commercial jingles around my home, striving to keep a smile upon everyone’s faces. I uncovered my true voice in artistic expression where there was freedom to experiment, to build and deconstruct, to get lost in worlds I painted for myself while pondering the complexities of our world. I developed conviction as I learned that my God-given interests were part of the same spectrum of compassionate artistry.
I have been blessed with a handful of wonderful mentors and guides. One of my mentors planted a seed that took root within me by saying, “There is room for [all of us] at the table in music and life.” I desired to be an artist who could mend broken spirits: a muse. What liberates me to explore my frailties, fragility, idiosyncrasies, unique interests and abilities allows me to promote healing in myself and others. My pursuits of musical performance and medicine are vehicles for finding joy while healing one heart at a time.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
As a creative, you are your instrument; you are your art. I have fallen in love with the process of learning, connecting with, and being inspired by others. Discipline lays the building blocks for artistic freedom of expression. The more I study human interpersonal dynamics, and the more I experience the trials and triumphs of life, the more colors I have for my sound palette. It is not about applause; rather, I find such beauty in the reciprocity of giving and receiving love in real time! It is less about the moments on stage and more about daily discovery.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mercymusicians/
Image Credits
Dominique Vien 360 Photography