"A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor." ~English Proverb

At this point in the semester, you may be dealing with "Three Projects Due in One Week Virus," "Sleep is for the Weak Plague," or "Fail-phobia."  Expectations are rising, energy levels are falling, and you feel like you're being tossed around as if Penn State Football scored their 31st point and a sea of arms is throwing you up in the air (except, there's no cheering, smiles, or excitement--only a slight sense of queasiness).

This theoretical rough sea, according to an English Proverb, is good for you.  That is often difficult to believe.

Sometimes, when stress overcomes us or threatens to make us weak, we feel that we should just give up.  We may think that to push through a rough time and keep enduring whatever it is that is causing the storm in our lives is pointless and will only cause more turmoil.

However, when our ship starts to rock on rough seas, we must adjust our sails and keep going because that is the only way to escape the storm.  We need to keep looking forward and know that these hard times are just one patch of rough seas in our lives that are ultimately making us more skillful sailors.  Dealing with rough seas makes us well-practiced life experts (that is why calling your grandparents or speaking to wise people every once in a while is helpful--they are well-versed in the troubles you are experiencing and know the best ways to overcome them).

Courtesy of Patrick McDonald

The world today is a frightening
place.  With so much unrest and violence in the most ordinary, unsuspecting places, it is difficult to disregard the turmoil going on in society and live without fear.  But, sailors cannot go into a storm worrying about every possible terrible outcome.  They must put aside their fear and execute the task at hand by navigating through the rough waters.  The circumstances of society today include a great deal of violence, selfishness, and lack of regard for the value of human life.  Unless we are consciously working to enact change, the only thing we can do is to fight negative forces head-on and stand our ground by keeping our personal values close to us.

Imagine what we could accomplish if everyone were able to live without fear in every aspect of our lives.  Without any anxiety or worry about possible impending negative events (no matter how small), we could be able to fully concentrate on all the things that are important to us and lead the most meaningful, impactful lives possible.  We are all capable of this, but oftentimes, worry, anxiety, and the negative circumstances of life hold us back from unleashing our full potential.

Life can certainly be rough.  But without the bumps and waves that accompany each day, we would never learn anything and would never become skilled life captains.  My favorite coach always used to say, "Make a mistake once and it becomes a lesson.  Make a mistake twice and it becomes a choice."  As long as we do not allow our mistakes to become choices, we will be able to continue through whatever life hands to us and come out stronger, becoming truly skillful sailors.

"Life is amazing. And then it's awful....And it's breathtakingly beautiful." ~LR Knost

Last week, I was in a bit of a rut.  It was one of those weeks I felt like nothing I did was good enough and everything that could have possibly went wrong, went wrong.  We all have these weeks (or days, or months, or even years) and when we are living through them, it feels like they'll just stretch on forever.

My mom sent me this quotation at just the right time which really helped me to put everything in perspective (Moms are great, aren't they?):

"Life is amazing.  And then it's awful.  And then it's amazing again.  And in between the amazing and the awful, it's ordinary and mundane and routine.  Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary.  That's just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life.  And it's breathtakingly beautiful."  ~LR Knost

Did you ever think about the fact that our life is basically one really long day with naps of various lengths mixed in?  (Last week was also one of those weeks during which I had a lot of weird, deep thoughts like "Why are we here?", "What is my purpose?", "Would the world be a different place if we were allowed to mix flavors at the creamery?")  All the small events that we live through each day add up to create this large-scale, big picture that, in the end, we define as our life.  It's absolutely insane.

"Life is amazing."  We are so fortunate to be getting a great education at a wonderful school, surrounded by supportive peers and teachers.  We all have people that we love and who love and care for us.  We have so much potential to be whatever we choose to be in the future.  And let' s not forget, we get to experience this glorious fall weather in the most beautiful setting and we have West cookies to cure any of our maladies.

"And then it's awful."  Sometimes, we question the big decisions we make or we feel like we have no direction.  We may lose a loved one.  We could fail or be told that we'll never be successful.  We may feel powerless in our own lives, which is a really scary feeling.

"And in between the amazing and the awful, it's ordinary and mundane and routine."  We wake up, brush our teeth, go to class, do work, study, fall asleep, and repeat the entire cycle again.  Sometimes, we just go through the motions and feel as though we don't have very much to look forward to.

In these situations, it's important to...

"Breathe in the amazing."  Regardless of how the rest of your life is going, when something wonderful happens, soak it in and appreciate the good feelings that you have in that moment.

"Hold on through the awful."  Know that there is always a silver lining, that there is always help when you most need it, and that no matter how bad a time may seem, with positive thinking, it will pass.

"And relax and exhale during the ordinary."  Just enjoy the ride and appreciate the small things in your day that make it special.

And the truth is, "that's just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life."  We all need to recognize that everybody experiences their own hills and valleys.  The only thing we can do is to be aware of our feelings and the feelings of others and help each other to navigate the rough seas in each of our individual lives.

This week, try to reach out to someone who may be having a rough time and encourage them to see all the wonderful things in life that make it so worth living.  As I write this, the breeze is gently blowing, vibrant red leaves are fluttering from the crystal blue sky, and I can't help but to think that, right now, life is good.

"And it's breathtakingly beautiful."

Photo courtesy of PSUpix on flickr.com

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." ~Victor Hugo

I have mood swings.  But only when I play music.

One of the things I have learned through studying music is that I have to express things in my playing that I would not normally feel every day.  In one piece that spans less than ten minutes, I may need to express sorrow, joy, pain, passion, excitement, agitation, restlessness, and humor.  I need to convey these emotions to the audience and to accomplish that task, I must transfer these emotions through my fingers and through the air that I put through my instrument by genuinely feeling those things.

The music major track is just as rigorous as any other area of study. We spend up to four hours a day in a practice room, another hour in lessons or chamber groups, and another in ensemble rehearsals.  Then, we take two to three theory classes in addition to the required general education classes.  Most days, I can't even figure when (or if) I can eat.  Add on the immense stress of competition within the music school and the pressure to play well 24/7, mixed with less than healthy amounts of sleep and there, in a nutshell, is the life of a music major.

Yet, there is a reason why all of us decide to put ourselves through this exhausting lifestyle that, yes, has an extremely low employment rate.

That reason is passion.

Passion for the thrill of performance, all mediums of music, and the art of expression.

I am grateful that each day, I am able to be emotionally moved in so many different ways, and experience the chills that occur when every single member of my ensemble is completely in sync, expressing and feeling the exact same emotions that I am.

It's powerful, and it cannot be described.

Thus, Victor Hugo said, "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."

Every single piece of music has a deeper meaning than the black and white notes on the page, and each composer has a story or a journey of emotions they need to express in their work.

Do you ever have a powerful experience (whether positive or negative) that you try to describe to a friend, but you can't even find the words to express how you felt?  Do you ever engage in a debate about a topic that you know is extremely important, but you simply cannot determine how to execute your argument?  Do you ever want to tell a family member, friend, or loved one how much they mean to you but there are truly no words to communicate your feelings?

We all do.  There are not enough words in the English language to express the most powerful emotions we have and the intense situations we experience.  And that is why we have music.

Many people dismiss music as pure entertainment.  The reason that music is associated with entertainment is because it tells stories and expresses emotions that we as humans cannot express with words.  It is intriguing and thought-provoking, and beautiful and wonderful in every way.

That is why I decided to dedicate my life to this art form.  I am able to participate in the conversation of words that cannot be expressed.  Weird, right?  But I don't mind at all.

Sidenote:  If you have not yet seen this video, this is a perfect demonstration of the way that music has the power to move people from all over the world to collectively express the inexpressible.

"It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." ~Albus Dumbledore

I am an avid Harry Potter fan.  My mom started reading them to me aloud when I was in second grade and I became immediately and irrevocably obsessed.  Since the beginning of my relationship with the Harry Potter series, I have read each book more than ten times (that is not an exaggeration) and the pages are so dog-eared and ripped that I need to read some of the books sitting at a desk so they don't fall apart.  I have taken every Sorting Hat quiz known to man (I am proud to say that I am a Gryffindor) and I know the secret Butterbeer recipe at Starbucks by heart.

All seven Harry Potter books are intricately thought-out, incredibly multi-dimensional, and amazingly realistic, which makes them the perfect read for anyone wishing to escape into a fantasy world for a few hours.  I was actually slightly disappointed that I didn't receive a letter when I was eleven inviting me to hop on Platform 9 3/4 in Kings Cross Station to begin my education at Hogwarts.

I will be forever grateful, however, to J.K. Rowling for giving the world the gift of Harry Potter.  Not only does the series provide a welcome distraction from the real world, the books also introduce dynamic characters that offer insightful advice and words of wisdom that are applicable to any Muggle's (non-wizarding folk's) life.  The words of Professor Albus Dumbledore (Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin, First Class, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Grand Sorcerer--I'm sorry, I couldn't resist) always prove to be extremely wise.  He said in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Apart from our surface-level talents, everyone also has the ability to be kind, to be hard-working, and to be optimistic.  I believe that people are inherently good.  We all have the abilities inside us to be exemplary people, but we have to consciously choose to use our abilities (like kindness, perseverance, and optimism) to prove our worth.

When Harry donned the Sorting Hat on his first day at Hogwarts to be sorted into a House, he persistently implored, "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin."  He did not want to be associated with the House that produced the darkest Wizards in all of history.  He later finds out that the Hat thought he had all the qualifications and abilities to be in Slytherin, yet it placed him in Gryffindor because his choice defined his true character.

Although I acknowledge that the Harry Potter novels are complete fiction, I am not ashamed to say that many of the most important lessons I have ever learned have come from the dog-eared pages of the most beloved seven books on my shelf.  Because of Albus Dumbledore, I learned that every minuscule choice in life displays a different aspect of our identity.  Whether we notice it or not, our choices automatically expose our true characters to the world.

So,

Choose wisely.

 

"Worrying is stupid. It's like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain." ~Wiz Khalifa

First of all, I would just like to establish that Wiz Khalifa is not someone I would peg as an exemplary role model.  However, he crafted one of my favorite quotes, "Worrying is stupid.  It's like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain," which is thoughtful and full of erudition.  After all, Wiz is short for "Wizdom" (I gather that this is actually a true fact, but maybe I shouldn't believe everything I read on the Internet.)

I'll admit that even on the sunniest of days, I carry an umbrella in my backpack "just in case."  Partly, this has become a habit for me and partly, I feel more secure if I am prepared for every possible situation (and this week, the umbrella has come in handy quite a few times).

"A Sea of Umbrellas," image courtesy of Penn State

But what good does the umbrella do for me on a sunny day?  It adds to the already heavy load on my back, which may pose a problem fifty years from now.  It scrunches notebooks, creates a strange, suspicious looking lump, and just serves as a nuisance.  The same could be said about the act of worrying.  It scrunches positivity, creates a suspicious lump of negative thoughts in the back of my mind, and truly serves as a nuisance.

Worrying is stupid.  That's an undeniable fact.  So often, we think of all the worst-case scenarios when we are trying something new, challenging ourselves, or going about our normal daily routines.

We have all been going through a few taxing weeks of exams, which have certainly added a degree of worry and stress to our lives.  While studying this past week, I noticed that whenever I became even slightly discouraged, I thought, "What if I'm studying the wrong material?", "What if I forget this the minute I get to the test?", "What if I fail?", "What if...?"

Worrying is stupid.

The fact is, we cannot spend time dwelling on the "What If's."  All we are capable of doing is working hard in the moment and letting our work speak for itself when the time comes.  Hopefully, everything will fall into place.  And if it doesn't, we have the knowledge that we did all we could.  We pick ourselves back up again and continue to work hard to meet and surpass our next obstacle in life.

Dalai Lama XIV said, "There are only two days of the year when nothing can be done.  One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow, so Today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live."

You cannot worry about yesterday's troubles because they cannot be undone.  You cannot worry about tomorrow's potential shortcomings because they cannot be predicted.  The best thing you can do for yourself is to live with your gaze grounded in the present moment, focusing on the task at hand, content with the current happenings in your life.

It's a bit strange to me that only the articulate Wiz Khalifa could teach me this all-important lesson, but I'm grateful that I learned it.  And I think from now on, I'll leave my umbrella behind (unless, of course, a hurricane or monsoon is in the forecast...*cough* Saturday *cough*).

"Today I Forgot My Umbrella" by Leonid Afremov