As a kid, I took piano lessons for a few years before deciding I didn’t like practicing and recitals seemed boring to me. Now, as an adult, I covet the impressive skills of piano players/singer-songwriters like Sara Bareilles who can so easily sing and play at the same time with such ease and emotion. I’ve taken a couple turns at the old ivories to sing and play at open mic nights but will still say such things as “I can’t really play the piano”. Here are some shots of me not playing the piano…
At any rate, since I have so much time on my hands right now (heyyy pandemic hey!), I decided there’s no reason not to pick up the piano again, just to play, not to perform and found a new joy in practicing which I never felt as a kid.
I have tried meditating and doing mindfulness exercises alongside Headspace and instructor-guided practice. They often tell you to think of the mind as the sky or river and as you get distracted or new thoughts come up, they are like clouds floating by, not getting fixated on these thoughts or the fact that you got distracted but moving them along. My mind almost always wanders during these sessions and when it doesn’t, it’s usually because I’ve fallen asleep. I do, however, find the guidance encouraging and forgiving, often noting a lesson afterwards. But I simultaneously don’t feel like I’m really hitting the point of meditation.
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