First Saturday

I have enjoyed working with my composition group immensely. I feel incredibly lucky to have been paired with such creative and inspired people. I had a brief chat with Anne today and she asked how things were going. I gushed about rehearsal and mentioned that we had made something, put something new into the world, something we were proud of. It is not a feeling I get very often day-to-day. Where the ideas came from ceased to matter at some point because every idea had been honed and refined by everyone else. We have polishing to do tomorrow and the presentation on Monday. Then on to – who knows.

My wife (Sherry) had asked if I had any idea where this whole month was heading and my response was – we don’t even have a schedule for Monday. It could go anywhere and the goal is to be prepared and to just go with it. In Suzuki training we were asked to learn a short text from the Three Sisters before arriving. That text is often used while we are training and we are asked to speak it at specific points. But, we are moving into an area in which we should expect it to be called for at any time. So, the goal is to always be ready to speak, no matter what position you are in.

One of the concerns that I have heard a number of people express is how to sustain this level of training and creativity once we all disperse and head for home. I think of those first few Americans that went to Toga to train with the Suzuki company and what it must have felt like for them to return to the States. How do you sustain something if only like 10 people know about it. Many of us will head to major metropolitan centers that might have four or five or a dozen people that have been trained and want to continue. Many of us face a desert.

I had a lovely Fb exchange with MaryAnn Zotto – one of the shinning restless people at UNCSA (in this context restless is oh so positive) and I made a similar comment to her. Her response was brilliant. “Like many things, a life of attentiveness is a habit. At an early age we learned to brush our teeth, a habit. Most people would never think of brushing their teeth for a few months and not bruising them again until they were inspired to do so. Sustaining... inspirational ... creative fluidity can be a habit also.” So, part of the reason I am here is to create a new habit. Interestingly some old habits are shifting. I am a nail bitter - have been since forever. I realized yesterday that I hadn't chewed a single nail since I got here. That may be due to the fact that as I topple over when my center wanders my hands spend a fair amount of time on a floor sticky with other people's sweat. Or perhaps I have other things to think about.  

I have used the word addiction a few times over the past few days. It is not a metaphor. There is something in both the Viewpoints training and Suzuki as powerful as any drug, something that pulls you back, holds you, feeds, you, and makes you want more. The first day off in a week and a number of us missed the stomping. The desire to get to Monday and get back into the routine of creating new habits is powerfully strong.