Release Over Recitation
Last night I attended a home concert hosted by a friend and featuring my wife on piano. I shared 90 minutes of music in a room with other people. No internet, no phones. It was the 100-year birthday of the house. As I sat there, I imagined the house watching us, amused by the way we were rediscovering something which was a normal social activity just a century ago when it was built.
People in a room, experiencing something real together.
Music brings us together. It restores and reconnects usâwith ourselves and with each other. It reminds us who we are. We need that reminder.
But itâs not really music that does this. Itâs the honest expression of another human being. When it flows through the hands of a musician as vibration, we call it âmusic.â It can also flow through colors in a painting, tastes in baking, precision in piloting, care in gardening or parenting. Whatever form it takes, if itâs honest, if itâs real, we feel that, and something deep within us resonates and comes alive. We call this honest vibration art.
The truth is that every one in that room last night was an artist. My wifeâs role wasnât so much artist as it was leader. Her job wasnât to play something flawlessly, it was to express something honestly. Yes, she had to practice for months (decades!) to be able to play those notes, but those same notes would have been empty if she hadnât put herself into them. So what people really came together to experience wasnât the music, it was Heather, and in a way, themselves.
To share ourselvesâour voice, as it is in the present momentâtakes courage and generosity. These are the qualities of a leader. Theyâre the qualities of an artist. Theyâre the qualities of humanity. If we ever lose track of our place in things, we only need to come back to these qualities. This is the clear challenge before us todayâas individuals and as a societyâto support, cultivate, and celebrate these qualities.
I feel so grateful for last night. I left restored and revived. What a gift from Heather, from Alison and Kevin, and from Richard. What a great way to spend 90 minutes.