Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Slow down, you move too fast... You got to make the morning last

SH sent me an article earlier today about an experiment done by the Washington Post in collaboration with the world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell. The set-up: Have Bell play his 3.5 million dollar Stradivarius at a Metro station in Washington, D.C. Would commuters notice? Would anyone recognize his skill and the beauty of the music? Would people stop to listen or continue on to work? How much money would be thrown into his case? Read the full article here.

The article is very well written and raises so many interesting philosophical and sociological questions. I can’t tell you the last time I was that engaged and impressed by newspaper writing. The article, combined with the video clips of him playing, left me feeling grateful for reasons that are difficult for me to explain.

I played the violin for about five years until the orchestra teacher I had started to make me hate it. She was unkind and disliked teenagers, and I couldn’t help but associate the violin with her. Plus, I knew that orchestra would take up an elective class and there were so many other things I wanted to take in high school such as French, German, ceramics, and sewing. Yeah, I wasn’t a geek or anything.

I’m still amazed by the amount of things I participated in when I was young. I took piano, sang in a choir, danced ballet, and played the violin. Eventually I quit everything but choir and tried out sports like tennis and cross-country. I also got straight As. I say that not to impress, but simply out of awe. I feel like I have so little energy for things outside of my daily routine. I don't know how to work in hobbies or classes or anything else (this also connects to my fears that I won't have the energy to be a good mother). Yet, I did it when I was young. Maybe because everything was a part of my routine, not something in addition to it, if that makes any sense.

Now, as an adult, I regret giving up things like the piano, just as my mother said I would (curse her!). I miss the creative and physical outlets, making music, and being part of a team. Sometimes I feel like music is the closest means to touching the divine. It transcends so many things and takes me to a different place. When I become discouraged by the pain of the world, it’s music that makes me realize what amazing things humans are capable of. And it’s music that puts me in touch with emotions that aren’t a part of my everyday life.

In my quest to find my passions in life, sometimes I wonder if I had everything figured out when I was 12 years old. I danced, sang, and played music. My life was full and now I continue to struggle with filling it up again. The Washington Post article made me wonder how I would have reacted should I have encountered Joshua Bell on my commute to work. Would I have stopped? Probably not. And maybe that’s my biggest problem: I’m so busy trying to get somewhere that I don’t pay attention to where I am already.

1 comment:

Tanaya said...

I played the viola for three years until I moved to a school without orchestra and I was telling a co-worker yesterday that I missed it. I also said I would love to learn to play the piano or guitar and maybe when my son goes to school, I'll start lessons.