Lost Time

Sorry for not emailing yesterday. I was sick, and the only thought going through my mind was when I was going to get better - I doubt you would have enjoyed that email. However, I return triumphant with two thoughts in one day.

The first thought:

It's incredible how much good news can bring you back from the depths. Yesterday was a tough one - it's never easy to be sick, and I spent most of the day completely idle which took its own toll. But late in the 9th inning of the day, I got some good news - nothing crazy, just a simple thing that turned the day around. I got a smile on my face and a second wind. It's interesting how things like that tend to pop up just when you need them.

The second thought:

I play pretty much any instrument that doesn't require that you blow into it. A friend of mine that plays trumpet and I were talking about the differences between the levels of commitment it takes for various instruments, and he noted that if he takes as little as a week off from practicing an hour a day, he can notice the difference.

He gets worse just from missing a week of playing.

Other instruments aren't like that, but there are a solid amount that require constant attention simply to maintain a current skill level. We don't tend to think of life as something that takes practice since we can never really step away from it completely. There's a mental shift between playing an instrument for an audience and practicing. One allows for mistakes.

But shouldn't life be something we practice? Shouldn't we have to take time out to evaluate our progress or to maintain our current skill level? How do we go about doing something like that, separating ourselves from our lives long enough to feel like we can make mistakes?

I think it's possible to mentally practice life or at least mentally prepare for life by knowing what types of things you'll do in certain situations. Boundaries that you feel uneasy about crossing. Stands that you'll be taking. But if you had to write these things down right now, would you be able to? Imagine that someone is asking you what your life is about, what the theme of your life is, what the main driving force in your life is.

Would you be able to answer?