Many years ago, my husband and I had the privilege of seeing Ms. Nina Simone perform in concert at the DAR Hall in DC. By then in ailing health and uneven of voice, Ms. Simone was nevertheless at the pinnacle of her skills as a performer. As she narrated between numbers, the audience would burst into hearty applause. She would pause for a minute, listening, and then say, "I'll take that applause," prompting laughs from the audience.
I was impressed with how her natural charisma prompted such devotion from the audience, but later my friend Susan (a former professional actress who played Patty Hearst in a TV teledrama) told me that good stage performers make these things happen in ways that we mere mortals don't recognize. Looking back, I can see that.
In any case, this reminds me that no matter where praise comes from, we should feel free to take some joy from it. So over the next few days, if you are reading this, why don't you practice saying, "I'll take that applause" when someone says something nice, even if you feel it's a little over-the-top or insincere. Have some fun with life.
