Practice, passion and persistence

Practice, passion and persistence

“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so masterful at all.” – Michelangelo

If Michelangelo said that, what about the rest of us? How hard must we work to achieve anything? 

I know, I know: practice, passion and persistence. 

If only I'd practiced the piano and the guitar more when I was a kid, if only I'd taken art and drawing more seriously in college, if only I'd had the guts to take creative writing instead of appreciation classes, what then? If only I'd been more courageous, mature and wise enough to listen to my authentic self and not so worried about getting a job and living a comfy life. What then? 

 I have no idea.  I do know that now, so many decades later, when I play music or compose, blog, write poems or short stories, take and post photos or share what I am learning about, it is done with passion. 

Luckily, I stumbled into a living which allows me the freedom to use my interests in many different ways and hopefully every once in awhile, a student will recognize a spark which will lead her to her own desires and to her true self.

I'm at a stage that in order to show myself some compassion, I let go of expectations but I do make myself do something, anything, because of passion. 

My new motto is:

Doing something is better than nothing.

Nike says "Just do it!"

I say: Do something!

So, I dabble in a lot of spheres. The way I see it, I'm curious and naïve enough to think that I can and should try my hand at different things. However, I realize that if I wanted to edge my way towards mastery, it would take me many lifetimes. 

I admire people who have achieved great things by being single-minded and focused long enough to actually get somewhere. Anywhere.

Perhaps my somewhere is to light candles In others. If so, dabbling is exactly what I should be doing in order to ignite as many fires as possible.

May we all be listen to our hearts and set the world ablaze with passion and compassion!

Mind map of The Sweet Spot by Christine Carter

The Sweet Spot by Christine Carter, my mind map notes

In my lover's house

In my lover’s house

By 

Julia Nadon

In my lover’s house

Every wall stands at an angle

Ready to sway to the beat of

His drum

The air smells of Irish Spring

Mixed with basil

And thyme

And again

It welcomes me to another tryst

Preceded by literary talk

Debates over blues’ masters

Or Scottish airs

Bread and olives

And a bottle of Chianti

Consumed on the dock

Under the setting sun

Followed by a slow

Teasing walk

Back up the hill

creativity

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.

- Pablo Picasso -

Every day in my work and in my personal life, I find that creativity gives me freedom to explore new ideas, manipulate old, tried and true concepts and rework everything for my own self-expression or to put a twist on my work.

I love music. It is a language I have understood for as long as I can remember. I can express myself through music. I use music to help my students learn and recall facts. I love making music even more than I enjoy listening to music, but I can be inspired by other artists, especially singer-songwriters like me.

I love visual arts. I love photography in particular because it is accessible to me. I have a intuition about subjects and composition. Photography is quick and can be very spur of the moment. Miss the opportunity, the light, the subject and it's gone. Photography can be tinkered with back at home on a computer. I am moved and inspired by other people's expression through photography. I use photography only in my personal life as a mode of expression. I cannot remember using it for work.

I love writing. I have always loved reading and have been reading probably as long as I've been talking. I love the written word. I love language. I love the meaning of words and their combination like I love melodies and rich 7th and 9th chords in music. I write for pleasure every day in my journal. I also use my talent for writing in my work. Words flow easily in both English and French even though I prefer English. Writing really opened up for me when I attended Linda Rief's conferences in the Laurentians. Poetry and creative non-fiction opened up writing as expression for me like the blues opened up my guitar playing and 7th and 9th chords opened up my attempts at the piano.

I also find that moving my body also liberates my mind: swimming, cycling, skiing, snowshoeing, even gardening. My body is busy and working and my mind is free chew on its bones or to wander free.

How do you wash off your daily dust?

Winter solstice

Where did 2014 go?
Okay. It's not totally gone yet. We're into some of the darkest days of the year and yet, I find it warm and calming. I give myself permission to be less  than perfect.

Permission to go easy on myself and my students. 

Permission to rest and be lazy, especially as I see colleagues battle fatigue, colds and the flu. There will be no messy crafts or Christmas concert this year. I've decided to be less than perfect and to stay healthy and patient for my own good and for the good of others around me. 

Permission for a second glass of red wine, I'm in my pyjamas by 7pm and not heading back out until morning so no harm can be done besides falling asleep on the couch as I read or watch another rerun of Blue Bloods.

Even though the days have been getting shorter since June, it will seem almost too soon to witness them getting longer next week. I haven't yet been skiing or snowshoeing. I need more snow for that.

Sundays are spent making big pots of veggie soups and chilis and cornbread and muffins, sipping herbal teas and reading and watching the dog walkers hike up the lane.

Everyday is lived fully even though lately, I've neglected my writing and photography.
I'll forgive myself. I've kept up swimming 100 laps a week and I've almost kept up composing new music each week. I even surprised myself and my students as I noodled away on the guitar waiting for them to settle into the class earlier this week. They clapped when I finished a piece of music that I'd just created as I watched them sharpen their pencils , tie their indoor shoes and read the daily plan. They're used to hearing me play quietly in the back of the room when they are on task and don't need me. They don't usually clap. And I admitted to them that I had just surprised myself too with what I'd just created. 

So, I'll go easy on myself if I haven't kept up all of my challenges.

Go easy on yourself too. Take time for yourself, take an extra cup of whatever makes you sane.

All of my challenges in one day

Where did the week go?
Work got in the way.
Then there was the matter of my birthday with phone calls and visitors for a couple of evenings. The there were a couple of evenings of dinners with good friends, one of which I hosted. And I wake up this morning thinking that today's To-Do list is pretty long:

Swim between 30 and 40 laps in order to get a decent start to the week and to help me sleep because this sound sleeper has been having sleep problems the last couple of weeks.

Get a notebook going to organize the 52 songs that I'm writing this year and compose another song before I go to bed tonight.

Walk or cycle.

Write a blog post. This is my second one this morning, so I'm okay.

Take, edit and publish a photo...no problem.

Read. When all that is left is reading, I'll feel as if 'm on vacation.

If I get any free time, I'd also like to draw something. Drawing has been on my mind in the last few days and I'm not sure why. I also get a release from drawing and mind-mapping but I rarely make time for these 2 activities.

For now,  I have a breakfast date and must get dressed to join my friends. When I get home, I'll take another look at my list and maybe only do what really needs to be done today and enjoy this autumn day.

This is why I love spending my days with kids: Adora Svitak

Adora Svitak illustrates just by being herself what I love about spending most of my waking hours with my students. Yes, I know that I'm the teacher, but honestly, I am learning every day as much if not more than they are. All of my students have something to offer me and I love exchanging ideas with them and trying to figure out how I can hopefully help grow into who they would like to become while doing no harm and not being a hindrance to them.

If you are at all intrigued, listen to this amazing young girl: