Walking the Dog or "How I found my Beginner's Mind"

As many of you know, our dog is getting on in years. This means that her get-up-and-go is starting to...well, you know. I've started walking her on a lead so I don't have to worry that she'll wander into the road if a car comes by, instead of going off the road like I need her to. We used to walk three miles every morning at a nice, brisk pace. Now we walk maybe a mile, and the walking part is punctuated by frequent stops to sniff, root around in undergrowth, and maybe lap some water out of a mud puddle.

I don't rush her. I listen to her being her dogly self while I enjoy the sunshine, the gorgeous meadows, the cows in the neighboring farm's fields. I suspect the lead makes her feel connected to me. I know I feel more connected to her as she ages. I feel like I have to care for her more, look after her more, love her more. What strikes me, though, is the amount of time I have now to really look around me as we meander down the road. There is only one side road near our house and it is more heavily travelled than ours. We don't generally walk that way. If we were to walk a loop from our house, it would be about six miles long. That's a little more time than I want to invest, and I don't think she'd survive the trek. Instead, we walk south along our road for maybe a half mile. And then we walk back north along our road.

As we walked along in the glorious sunshine yesterday evening, it struck me that I've been observing this stretch of road through the seasons for over seven years now. I'm starting to notice things changing. Little things. Neighbor's got a new combine. There are three calves in the upper field. The county road crew doesn't know how to patch potholes very well. The farmers down the road rebuilt part of their stone wall. The former councilman has his garden in. The new folks have someone to mow for them. Little things that punctuate country life.

I like having a history with these little things. It is the stuff of living. They say not to sweat the small stuff, but actually, I think the small stuff is kind of the point. Did you ever notice that practicing your instrument is like walking the same stretch of road every day for a year? You focus on the little things until suddenly they're automatic, and then you're really free to look at (or listen to) the bigger picture! One day you're grinding away in a session because they're playing one of the six tunes you know and you'll be darned if you'll miss your chance to play it! You keep going to sessions, you keep playing at home, you take your lessons, and so on. And then it happens...one day you realize that you're not struggling to keep up! You're actually trading variations with someone and smiling and you're ready for the tune change. Or you're just listening because the people you're hanging with are so much fun to listen to...and...YEAH! This Irish Music stuff is so cool!!!!

That's when you realize that, now more than ever, those stupid scales and breath- or bow-control strategies and interval exercises are critical. And suddenly you're focused back on the little things. When you reach that point, you've achieved what Zen Buddhism calls "Beginner's Mind." You don't need to know it all, but the simple choice to focus on the little things changes everything. When does it happen, you ask? Well, it's that moment when you discover that knowing the scales in every key makes it quicker to learn a tune. It's the willingness to revisit a sticky spot in a tune, whether you're adjusting your fingering or breathing or bowing or phrasing, to see if there is a new way to play it. It is the ability to hear the pulse of a tune in someone else's playing and to know that you will give your all to get that same sound.

Above all, it is the patience to hear the music from all the players that surround you, good or bad, new or old, and respect their journey and incorporate it into your own experience.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read what I have to say. I'm sorry, but I've got to go now. I have to walk the dog.

The Trad

Right on top of things, eh?

Yep. Here we are again, friends. To paraphrase Laure Cortese's blog, I started this thing to stay in touch with you all about what's going on musically, but I've spent more time doing the "musically" and no time at all keeping this up. .....We interrupt this meaningless babble for a public service announcement.....

[We will have a mini-session tonight at Old Songs: 7:30-9:00 PM, as only three of you have expressed an interest in coming, and one of you really wants to go to Saratoga for a session. See you later? I have no plans for tunes right now, but I'm thinking about a few reels. If we're a small enough group, maybe we'll try something really dead slow by ear.

Tip of the month: Bring an audio recorder.]

If this had been an actual useful piece of information, you would have heard Irish music in the background....we now return to our regularly scheduled meaningless babble....

The nice thing is that so many of you are doing so many musical things yourselves that I'm kind of enjoying the e-mail updates! Saw Fritz and Jen at Old Songs and they said busking at the Ithaca Irish Festival a couple of weekends ago was "interesting." I'll let them tell you why. All I can say is that we're relieved the concertina survived unscathed!

Just got befriended up with Dave on myspace. He's quite prolific and entertaining. Can't wait for him to get hooked up with Atavan so he can perform on stage! I'll post his myspace address here soon so you can enjoy his sense of mad brilliant humour...

Leanne is dancing and playing her way all over the damn state! Look out for her on the big stage soon. If you don't see her on the stage, chances are she'll be in front of the stage if you check out her facebook page!

David P. is playing up a storm, too, and has some very nice tunes. We had a nice chat at Old Songs. Let's go over Jerry's Beaver Hat again this week, eh?

Karen says she feelin' rusty, George is in NYC, and we won't see my-man-Jeff because he's crazy busy at work. Elaine is out o' town traveling. Eric is going to go home and practice tonight, as he'll be performing at a Celtic concert with a bunch of BSO folks on August 6 in a concert in Curtisville, MA!

That's the news in my world. Tell me what's going on in yours!

The Trad