I should be practicing right now. Putting in the hours to prepare for my audition on Monday. But this morning before I left home to teach I chose to use my time making a chicken salad that we could eat for the rest of this busy week, and now after my Notre Dame student I am cheerfully enjoying my lunch at the local coffee house, Zoe snoozing beside me in her car seat. Sometimes it's healthier to use your time taking care of yourself instead of your reeds. Or at least I hope so...
In Reed Club last Monday, we took a moment before we started scraping to set some intentions. We each said one word - an adjective to describe what we WANTED our reeds to be. An aspirational adjective. Efficient was a word that came up, and Consistent . Dark and Mysterious . Mellow . Predictable . Trustworthy . Honest . BIGGER . Reed affirmations actually felt helpful - both in the moment and in the results we found as we worked. I don't know why that surprises me - I set intentions at the beginning of the year, at the beginning of the month, at the beginning of a run, in the morning before I work. I love a good affirmation. I love WORDS. But I'd sort of forgotten about the possibility of applying one to the mundane work of reed-making. You don't have to know exactly how to GET to that result. But having clarity in your mind about what that result is? Helps you to stop going down unhelpful rabbit holes. Reminds you to seek something beyond competent, beyond
AMEN!
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