Cultivating a life that incorporates bliss in your routine will help create a life full of joy.
I don’t remember a time when music wasn’t a part of my life. Growing up my parents and grandparents played music on a record player and I experienced music at church each Sunday morning.
There was a time when I was not yet a musician, though I can't remember the struggle to learn how to read music.
I took to the piano quickly once I began lessons at the age of eight after pleading with my parents to begin piano lessons. Inspired by the example and encouragement of a younger friend, the keys and sounds from the piano drew me in.
Something about the piano always spoke to my soul, giving me the freedom to explore my emotions–especially my more melancholy ones.
Awkward in all areas of my bodily form, my fingers found an ease and grace across the keys. My time at the piano was and still is a sacred and holy event – a communion between my inner being and the music.
Denying that part of my personhood drained me. For a time I allowed motherhood, chubby fingers eager “to help,” and the demands of adulthood deter me from my musical expression.
Returning Bliss to My Routine
Perhaps there was some gift in my time away. Now I relish my scarce yet consistent 20 minutes at the piano each day. Now I have more to say through my music, representing the life I've lived. My heart now knows where it thrives. Thankfully, the performance and competition around being a performing musician has almost completely dissipated.
Now, I play for the pure joy of it and seek to help my students find that same state of bliss in the study, pursuit, and practice of the art.
It's no longer about achieving first chair, winning the gig, or being the best. It's about the journey and about the salve to my soul that it provides. My heart feels whole when I play and explore.
For each of us, we will find bliss in activities as unique as we are as people. For some, it will be through creative arts (a very broad category), for others, it will be through community, intellectual pursuits, or physical activity.
Whatever that activity is for you, I encourage you to engage in it. Prioritize that time on your calendar. Make a date with yourself, however frequently you want to experience this bliss. (For me, you will find me at my piano every day at 11:00.) This is how you will find your own state of bliss – an internal joy that can't be shaken -- and incorporate it into your routine.
Food for Thought:
Where do you find your bliss– your place of internal joy and happiness?
How can you begin to incorporate more of that activity into your life on a consistent basis (perhaps even daily)?
Make a plan. And do it. Joy is waiting for you there.
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If learning to play the piano sounds like bliss to you and you want the support of a remote piano teacher to help you reach your goals, I’d be honored to be a part of your journey. The process is simple:
1. Schedule a call to talk about your goals.
2. Select a lesson time.
3. Take your first lesson!