PureInsight | December 1, 2014
[PureInsight.org] A news report about the Shen Yun Orchestra performance said that one spectator, Dr. Feidicker, found the first and the second tunes to be “excellent!” He also emphasized that the cells of his body were thrilled, the article read. There was no national anthem in this performance. Instead, it began with the two Dafa pieces constantly clearing the field. The music was fast moving.
Although Master arranged for a large audience on the first floor of the theater last year, the audience seemed to be larger this year. There might be a better method of promoting the show. I was not sure. At the beginning of promoting the orchestra this year, I was always told by people that they liked Shen Yun more. It affected me. I felt the group of people who listened to orchestras is small, and doubted if it was helpful to contact grocery stores and metro stations. I felt more and more pressure.
As I met more customers and distributed more flyers, the situation changed. I started to hear some feedback:
“My god, I see your information everywhere!”
“I heard this orchestral performance was very successful last year, the music was beautiful......”
“I missed the orchestral performance and Shen Yun last year. I want to watch both of them now!”
“I saw your poster!”
“I got it on the door handle!”
“I saw your booth at an event!”
“I saw this advertisement in the newspaper!”
“I got a flyer during grocery shopping!”
“I already got a flyer at metro station!”
“Can you tell me how to buy tickets?”
“I already got a ticket. My friend booked 10 tickets!”
Master is encouraging us to have confidence. I found that the orchestral performance and Shen Yun do not conflict with each other. I should promote both of them. I should not have fear. The predestined people are brought by Master. No one will be missed.
To promote Shen Yun Orchestra at metro stations this time, I only chose several mainstream big stations. I was very careful about handing out flyers. I myself handed out less than three thousand flyers. But the effect was better than last year. The thing that touched me the most was that every time I always met some very high-class people. They saw, but reacted as if seeing nothing. They heard, but reacted as if hearing nothing. They passed in front of me with no expression on their faces. Even after passing by, they would suddenly turn around and came back asking for flyers. Some of them did not leave immediately. I then opened the flyer and introduced the details to them.
There is a big hall at Backbay metro station. Many of the people who were waiting for the metro did not react at the beginning. After watching me repeatedly shouting to people who came in a hurry, they finally came over to me to ask for flyers. The flow of people at South Station is crowded, huge and constant. I needed to talk non-stop for a long time. Every time I felt almost out of breath. An American would come over to encourage me. At Davis metro station, a lady did not take the flyer. After sitting on a long chair for a while, she suddenly shouted to me: “Shen Yun, what does Shen Yun mean?” she called. “These people may not know about Shen Yun and so they don’t take the flyers. You should do it this way, say it this way. Also, give me a flyer to look at.”
Everything is difficult at the beginning. It will not work if people cannot see the posters, get the flyers and hear our detailed introduction. But we don’t have enough money for advertisements. In order to let ordinary people feel that Shen Yun Orchestra spreads through the sky and covers the earth, inverting the mountains and sea, we must have momentum. A lot of people were contacted again and again through different channels before deciding to buy tickets. Distributing flyers at metro stations, on streets, in front of grocery stores and theaters is really grassroots. But it is also an inevitable process. As long as these approaches are what we genuinely believe in and agree upon, and we try multiple ways to rationally and solidly perform every step, it will have the most effect of advertising. Many audiences this time are mainstream people, and a lot of people said they saw the posters and then bought tickets.
While selling tickets, distributing flyers, taking buses, walking wherever, I find that the people I face look bleak, numb, anxious, tired. If I did not have Fa today, I would be one of them. Being able to look at their eyes face to face and talk, I must pass joy, warmth and hope to save sentient beings!
Master teaches in What is a Dafa Disciple, “As you may recall, I often say that ‘An opening has been made in the net.’ If people were to pass the test on their own, how could they possibly do so? Master has long known that the old forces would do this, and so I arranged for Dafa disciples to save sentient beings.”
Master also teaches, “If one is going to break the old forces’ interference, one needs people who can jog a person’s memory, who can point things out and make him understand, who can awaken him, and who can explain to him the truth about the past and today’s world.”
After the performance, a lady held my hand at a Whole Foods Market and said excitedly: “My daughter took me to this store and we walked around at random, then we bought the tickets. We didn’t expect the performance today to be incredibly beautiful. Our random walk the other day was so lucky! I will bring more family members to watch next year.”
I hope Master gives us opportunities to welcome the Shen Yun Orchestra 2015!
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/node/137003
