I had the extreme good fortune to be a guest at Holy Cross Monastery this week for a harp retreat with old friends and other friends I hadn’t met before. It is a lovely place in a beautiful location. The weather was crap. Gray. Drizzly. Misty. It was perfect!
Of a morning, I greeted the dawn and was treated to the type of daybreak that only arises from awful weather – a breathtaking, gorgeous, extended crowning of the sun over the earth.
The great thing about sunrise is that it can’t be rushed. No matter how many you see (and I do my best to see as many as possible) each is beautiful in its own way and comes in its own time. And no matter what you do, they simply are. All you can do…is breathe…and wait for it…and enjoy.
Which is good for us to remember – we must sometimes take the time to simply be. To breathe. To allow the day to wash over us.
This same approach can be brought to your harp and your music. Don’t rush. Enjoy the beauty. Let the music unfold. Relish that presence. Practice it. Until, like placing your fingers, counting, or breathing, it merely comes naturally. Practice enjoying and not rushing until it comes naturally…and becomes just the way you do it.