|
TheGreenArrow
Goodbye, Mr. Chops.


Registered: 06/22/12
Posts: 15,270
Last seen: 1 year, 10 months
|
Playing the Rests.
#21788265 - 06/10/15 01:13 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
So I doubt many of you know this but at one point in this carousel of life people might have labelled me an accomplished Jazz trumpet player. This past month has been the hardest perhaps in my entire time here. Times are trying and as a result of letting stress get in my way, I may have sacrificed the one thing I was put here to do and I've forsaken the one great Love of my life.
During this time something keeps coming back to me from my time in the world of music. "He most important part of Jazz is knowing when to stop and play the rests." At first glance most would take a look at this statement and say, "TGA, that's the easy part, all you have to do is STOP." Well. I'd say to you it's not EASY but it is simple. Why it's so hard for me seems to have to do with the elementary fact, I have next to no patience in my life.
I've read a lot of philosophers, I've went to treatment programs, sang hymns, listened to preachers, priests, "Holy men". But for whatever reason this simple fact has alluded my impatient ass for far too long. I'm tired shroomery. Tired of getting ahead of others, tired of lashing out, I'm really exhausted of getting in my own way. My question to you is how do you personally stay patient? How do YOU play the rests?
-------------------- A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, conn a ship, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve an equation, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.- Robert A. Heinlein Saint RedBow of the Shroomey Loomey-Patron Saint of Sandbaggin Sumbitchs
|
once in a lifetime
sun child



Registered: 02/12/15
Posts: 1,807
|
|
sense the energy and feel what is around, and present;
breathe deeply in nature, spend time in reflection, and eventually it becomes very second-nature.
that's what I do; also feel what is going on around; what kind of energy - if it is a destructive energy; recognize it for such, and don't allow yourself to repeat it:
this doesn't necessarily mean avoiding it altogether, just to be aware that certain types of speech and behavior are getting someone nowhere, and to choose not to partake in that anymore.
-------------------- Innocent, Oldfield & Hegerland Julia Delaney, Bothy Band Rasta Girl, Sister Carol Genesis, Jorma K I Wish You Peace, Lawrence Laughing Do Your Thing, Moondog large . . music garden . . veryall peace them hiStarhouse - main Time Traveler's Guide
|
Soul-Shine

Registered: 11/02/13
Posts: 338
Loc: Within and Without
|
|
I don't know if one can learn how to play the "rests", you just do it. Sat in with some heavy hitters in music and they've all told me that the key to improvising is listening, not hearing. I didn't understand the magnitude of what they were saying until this past year. I was previously too self conscious/absorbed in the notes I was playing that I forgot that the point of playing with a group of musicians is to function as one cohesive unit, as a living and breathing entity - elements of light and shade.
This translates to the 9-5 world. Don't think so much. Try feeling it. For 10 years I had no clue what musicians meant by that phrase - feeling it. Then it clicked. It's so simple that it is sometimes easy to overlook. So in the waking life... listen.
|
TheGreenArrow
Goodbye, Mr. Chops.


Registered: 06/22/12
Posts: 15,270
Last seen: 1 year, 10 months
|
|
-------------------- A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, conn a ship, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve an equation, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.- Robert A. Heinlein Saint RedBow of the Shroomey Loomey-Patron Saint of Sandbaggin Sumbitchs
|
once in a lifetime
sun child



Registered: 02/12/15
Posts: 1,807
|
|
patience is just a skill, but it's one of the most worthwhile ones. I often used to remember Hesse's quote (via Siddhartha), 'I can do three things, wait, fast and think,' kind of interesting.
Non-reactivity is the name of the game; reactivity prevents one from getting to the deeper levels of life, also gives away energy and power to others - non-reactivity, related to non-attachment, is one of the basic keys for not giving anyway energy or power over yourself to anyone - except in relationships, where gradually that kind of thing unfolds. .
So just to practice that, in reflective spaces and times; eventually it's possible to be at peace - unified - in any situation, and when we can act from a peaceful platform, and freedom, that is, from that sphere of activity that is free and creative; then everything starts to flow more nicely.
It's a very gradual thing, unfolding and unveiling process, but each step towards peace and freedom is significant, and if we work forward in the right way, it's possible to do so in such a way that doesn't ever slide back or regress.
All the best, Jake
-------------------- Innocent, Oldfield & Hegerland Julia Delaney, Bothy Band Rasta Girl, Sister Carol Genesis, Jorma K I Wish You Peace, Lawrence Laughing Do Your Thing, Moondog large . . music garden . . veryall peace them hiStarhouse - main Time Traveler's Guide
|
cez

Registered: 08/04/09
Posts: 5,854
|
|
Stay occupied in your hobbies. My professional life is shit right now. Absolute shit. 8 hours of my day sucks, but I know I did this to myself so it is what it is. When I get back to my place though, I get absorbed in the things that interest me. Time at work drags and drags but then I get home and work on my stuff and 4 hours later I realize I lost track of time and I should probably go to bed.
It's kinda odd but not really. I hate my work so much that I savor my time alone to do what I enjoy.
Buy the Tool album Lateralus. It's so fucking awesome and quite relatable for this post.
|
|