Pre-Venezuela Thoughts: Bad Luck. Good Luck. Who Knows?

And now for some last minute thoughts and revelations before taking off to Venezuela. This time tomorrow I will be (hopefully) asleep in transit on an airplane to Caracas!!

To go off Rachel's blog post (http://rachbrakes.blogspot.com) on grey space, so few things in life are an immutable, static black or white. I think some things in life are black and white, but can easily fade to grey, which made me have a revelation, even if perhaps obvious. 

Nothing is constant. You think you have X job, but who's not to say you won't be offered a more appealing one or have a circumstance that requires you to relocate. Relationships..we won't even go there with the divorce rate now being well over 50%. And places..well this is really where it applied. I realized today how transient of a place Boston is and how much I truly love Boston for the place, not the people. The only other place this has happened is MN. You can't base how much you like/dislike a place on the people because those can (and will) change. Next year, most if not all the Fellows will be out of Boston, but what does Boston provide regardless of people? I am reminded of my other homes: Decorah where I loved the place and people, though will admit I could never live there now that the people are gone, Tanzania-where I didn't like the place and didn't know the people so it was a bad fit but certainly a wonderful experience, and Chile-a great place, but not my favorite people. 

All this makes me realize that perhaps the reason the whole "settling down" thing is appealing to so many, is this desire to have constants, and decrease the unknown (grey space). If I bought a house, were married, and had children, it would be pretty hard for the major building blocks of life as I know it to change. I heard a friend today said, "I really like where I'm at, my housemates and network I've built, but I'm sure something bigger and better will come." We as Americans certainly like this idea of "bigger and better." But may I posit is bigger always better? And is better always bigger? The way we think is very linear. A career path parallels a ladder, our life cycle and timelines are lines from beginning to END. This word causes so many problems because it is a fixed point, eliminates grey space, but also eliminates new possibilities. For some, this is a good thing because it allows one to raise a family in a stable environment. But for me, that sounds like "stuck," "trapped", or any other rooted word. The beautiful thing about the majority of life decisions is because there is no constant, you can change. You can change your job, significant other, friends, apartment/housemates, schools, and anything else that is not owned. But when you start to own a car, house, or have a life partner or child, these types of decisions are close to impossible to undo. Ideally, this would be a good thing because you love it/him/her, but I like the idea that I can make a mistake, learn from it, and alter my path if needed/desired. It makes decisions far less daunting (and goodness knows how good I am at making those) because I know I can change it if need be. 

Which brings me to my final revelation, which relates back to the mantra of you creating your own reality, or rather how you perceive your situation greatly affects your reality. Today I heard the two dichotomous words creeping up in conversation: "good" and "bad." We as humans or at least Americans love labels. "That was such a BAD decision." "I really made the RIGHT decision." But I want you to reflect on something that, at the time, you probably thought was a "bad" decision. I'm sure there was a post-rejection period from a job, crush, or other life opportunity where you didn't feel so great. But, then reflect on what happened after that, it could be a few months or years down the road, and it could be several. What opportunity presented itself that wouldn't have presented itself had that rejection not occurred? That second decision that you actually executed/experienced, was a "better" decision in that you were a better match for that position than the initial pursuit even if you desired that. It makes me think of a Zen story I heard a few weeks ago about a farmer. 

An old Zen story goes like this: An old Chinese farmer had a mare that broke through the fence and ran away. When his neighbors learned of it, they came to the farmer and said, "What bad luck this is. You don't have a horse during planting season." The farmer listened and then replied, "Bad luck, good luck. Who knows? A few days later, the mare returned with two stallions. When the neighbors learned of it, they visited the farmer. "You are now a rich man. What good fortune this is," they said. The farmer listened and again replied, "Good fortune, bad fortune. Who knows?" Later that day, the farmer's only son was thrown from one of the stallions and broke his leg. When the neighbors heard about it, they came to the farmer. "It is planting season and now there is no one to help you," they said. "This is truly bad luck." The farmer listened, and once more he said, "Bad luck, good luck. Who knows?" The very next day, the emperor's army rode into the town and conscripted the eldest son in every family. Only the farmer's son with his broken leg remained behind. Soon the neighbors arrived. Tearfully, they said, "Yours is the only son who was not taken from his family and sent to war. What good fortune this is..." 

If we write a decision/experience off as "good" or "bad", we usually miss the opportunity to learn, grow, challenge, and change. I challenge you, to see the growth opportunity next time a "bad" thing happens. Of course I am not stating there is no such thing as tragedy, catastrophe, or that everything happens for a reason. Only that, we can more fully live life to the fullest (and probably waste less time and hopefully fewer unproductive emotional states) if we take each thing in life as an opportunity. 

This is my mindset for the upcoming trip to Venezuela. No expectations. Only an opportunity to learn, question, grow, and hopefully with time, influence change on the US Sistema field as needed. 

Economic Value of Creating Creative Communities

This morning I had the pleasure of speaking with Felipe Buitrago from the IDB who inspired this entry. He spoke a lot about the economic value of creative communities. Instead of manufacturing an economic commodity, we are manufacturing minds. It is an investment, but overall there is a high economic return. We can equate things like Grammys won and other musical successes to a quantitative number. We can see how many are employed, etc. Competitions are an opportunity. His objective is not to make everyone a phenomenal musician, but rather create the space to provide the opportunity to foster musicians. Sound familiar?

In past blog posts, I've mentioned Finland's emphasis (among others) on arts education, but because this information came from a Colombian who now works for the InterAMERICAN Development Bank, this will be Latin-tinged. Colombia began a whole new mindset in 1991 when they wrote their Constitution of 1991 that said among other things, all music types must be accepted and treated equally. If the government was going to support rock, they had to support all rock, not just classic, heavy metal, etc. etc. As a result, competitions became solely things one could observe (how many years of experience, did they exhibit X) rather than judging quality. That was up to the audience to decide. I won't pass judgments and say this is right or wrong, but it is certainly a pique interest in the field; how do we evaluate excellence and minimize biases? The other part of the 1991 Constitution was the new mindset that took place gradually of being open to other religions, sexual preferences, and in general bursting outside the rooted, "traditional" Colombian mindset bubble.

The IDB is now initiating a project not only acknowledging the economic impact countries like Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, and Mexico have had through art, but acknowledging the transfer that SA can have on North America and not constantly only going the other direction. I also learned about the IDB's financial structure and only 18 of 44 members are not clients, the US being one of them. This means that the IDB can't spend money on arts programs across the country, though it can in DC...

That conversation was a reminder of the path from which I initially sought and honestly haven't completely ruled out. International development from a cultural perspective is still something that very much intrigues me and the conversations today paralleled El Sistema to a tee. I was also thrilled to find out the National Endowment for the Arts is conducting a similar study of measuring the economic value of art: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/26/national-endowment-arts_n_2024994.html

As always, comments welcome!

The Outspoken Tune of El Sistema: Choir

With a little over a week left before the big departure, I have decided to write up an entry with my hopes of what I will see while I am down there. Coming from the choral side of things, I realize as are many of the fellows this year, not the "traditional" El Sistema aficionado, having no experience with the strings side of things. But recently, I think people are unaware how renowned the choral side of El Sistema is, specifically Schola Cantorum and the White Hands choir. I'm not sure why this side doesn't receive the same amount of publicity or touring that the SBSO seems to, but I really want to correct the notion that El Sistema is only for orchestras. I certainly understand the argument that most children have exposure to choir, but many do not have exposure to the instruments involved to be in an orchestra. But even if children sing in a group at their church (this was the main assumption where access would be provided) is it with the rigor and excellence that could be manifested through an ES-inspired program?

 Finally, El Sistema choral programs are starting to emerge: Sister Cities Girl Choir and Atlanta Music Project's AMPlify. But we still have a long way to go in terms of awareness and publicity to be on par with orchestras. I don't mean this solely in a competitive tone. I mean this to illustrate the demonstrative power choir can have on a community and the excellence that can be achieved through this. The fact that anyone can sing, parent, child, 3 yr old, 70 yr old. The fact that it can be performed anywhere. And the fact that in addition to children intrinsically reading, the power of words can add that extra "heart-tugging" layer that orchestras simply cannot do. Of course this is a biased statement, but how many of us carry around that famous quote, adage, or mantra daily. Imagine if that could be exemplified and multiplied through children's voices!

Yesterday, I had a very unique and blessed experience to participate with Afghanistan National Institute of Music's students, learning ragas and other Indian classical concepts, Afghan folk songs, and a melodic dance song that is still ringing in my ears. Whenever I will reflect on this song, I will think of the two girls playing a piano duet, or the gaggle of girls who taught us the song, so innocent and softspoken, or sitting on the carpet listening to the tabla drums and sarote, all memories realizing that ANIM is one of the few co-ed schools where young girls like these can have access to things like piano lessons. Yesterday was the type of event that is hard to blog about, actions speak louder than words. I can say it was an incredibly memorable day, not only learning about new musical concepts and repertoire, but once again seeing the true power of music in a community where music was banned less than a decade ago. http://www.afghanistannationalinstituteofmusic.org

Inclement Weather: Nemo 2013

I first wanted to blog because I did something historical, I trekked 1+ mile in Nemo (apparently they're now naming blizzards), the largest blizzard since '78 with 30+ mph winds and 9 inches of snow accumulated in one evening. I went to a friend's house earlier in the day and because the roads were closed to cars decided I'd have some fun "skiing" on a bike. It was a joyride and not dangerous since only walkers and the occasional obsequious flashing plows were out. I arrived and decided locking up the bike would be pointless so I shoved it under the front porch, safe from the storm. After some food, board gaming, and embracing the winter wonderland, I went outside to see how crazy it was to trek home. Descending the stairs I came up waist high in snow and had a sudden urge to do nothing but frolic. I went to my bike, which while not completely buried was certainly snow-covered with wind speeds at 35 mph. For amusement sake only, I went out to the road and successfully pedaled three revolutions before losing traction/balance. And then turning onto the immediate side street couldn't successfully cycle one revolution. Keep in mind the snow was past the front tires of most cars. But by that point a challenge had been planted in my mind and the thought of my bed and clean brushed teeth enticed me enough to accept it. I was going to walk the 1+ mile home, even though a couch was a perfectly welcome option. I made it to the main street and then the wind gust's bitter chill and ice prickled my face, despite the hood, scarf, and jacket up to my nose. I realized perhaps I had made the "wrong" choice, but I had already embarked and was ready to encounter Nemo firsthand. Keep in mind I saw 10+ people in the middle of the street, out for a walk, and if I hadn't been walking a bike, I would have blended into the 1:30 am Centre St scene well. But I was and despite passing 5+ plows, trucks, and bulldozer plows, attempting to keep the roads "clear", it was more like snowshoeing with the added challenge of a useless wheeled accessory alongside me. If I had simply been walking south, it wouldn't have been a feat, but alas I had to walk north (the direction of the wind). I realized the only way I was going to handle the blizzard for the duration required was to walk backward and push the bike, which mitigated the wind completely. Sooner than later, I was more than halfway, and realized I could do it. Despite not being able to look anywhere but the ground (or backwards), I glimpsed forward seeing the Boylston traffic light blurred in the distance, knowing I would soon be home. I arrived, with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that I really did just walk 1+ mile in the record-breaking snowfall day and largest blizzard since '78. Sure, this may have been "stupid" and "unnecessary" suggesting I should have taken the comfortable, "no pain no gain" route of the friend's couch, but for whatever reason I had a drive and determination to circumvent the blizzard by truly embracing it. When I got to where the steps of my house usually are, there was nothing but a large snow drift and I decided, despite the fact it would be unnoticed by morning, I would shovel the walkway. Once I turned out of the north direction, the stinging and frigid wind immediately ceased and it was nothing but a glimmering winter wonderland. And somehow the trek had rejuvenated me, perhaps from being so stir crazy all day.

I tell you this story because aside from the crazy, illogical, and perhaps preposterous decision I made,  I reflect a significant portion of who I am and for those who know me well, I'm guessing the above anecdote doesn't surprise you greatly. I've always known I've thrived on the uncomfortable, unpredicted, and more challenging path, but I think tonight I realized it's not only that I thrive on it, but on some level it is a necessity of my life. The love of adventure, the zeal and drive required, the innovation of how to surpass obstacles, the humor needed to walk in a blizzard, the need to physically experience the blizzard, and the achievement and satisfaction attained once the journey has been taken, these are all key elements to my personal core and for me, my favorite memories contain these. Some might think it a bit crazy to have sought out the chance to experience a blizzard. But I think as music requires both tensions and resolutions, we need obstacles and challenges to attain the success and satisfaction one receives from a job well done. I can now appreciate in a new and tangible way my heat, my dry clothes, my bed, and my fortune for having arrived safely. Had I stayed on the couch, I would have slothfully fallen asleep on a foreign couch and missed the rarity of such an event. And let's face it the story wouldn't have been the same!

What obstacles and challenges will I encounter in the remaining semester, especially as we embark to Venezuela (in a little over two weeks!)? I am unsure, but can ascertain that the story of how we overcome them and the strengthening of friendships that will be sure to follow will remain in my mind long after the initial journey is over and will be lessons that not only build character, but help shape future decisions and experiences. The challenge is needed to fully appreciate the good. Very rarely are the "good times" the easy times. They are the times when satisfaction and accomplishment and most often times growth have been attained. So I ask you, are you ready to experience inclement weather (or whatever obstacle), not just from a window watching complacently, but truly experiencing it firsthand, bitter, cold wind, and all?