I have developed a new routine to keep me in a healthier condition emotionally and physically lately. I do whatever need to be done, like having lesson, practice, funerals, running offices, replying emails, organizing and planning, meetings, housework and etc. No matter how busy am I, around 5pm to 6 pm I will go home and prepare a proper meal. After dinner, I walk in the nature or park for about one hour. At night, I read or write a blog.
Even though I like to practice and play organ, it could be frustrating when I am not progressing after weeks, stuck in the same piece. And then negative thoughts start creeping in, like “That’s it, I am destined to be a bad organist. All my effort just evaporates.” Also, to deal with different officers could be draining energy and feeling helpless.
This situation reminds me of Elijah (I know, it’s him again as in my last post). A scene, Elijah said: “It is Enough! O Lord, now take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers! I desire to live no longer; now let me die, for my days are but vanity!” Actually, all he needed to do was to sleep well, eat well and walk 40 days. In order to sleep well, I make sure that I eat well, walk for one hour, calming down my thoughts by reading and writing. Things that still need to be done but not yet quite done, pray to God and tomorrow is another day. There is time to work and there is time to rest.
What is a good or bad organist everyone has very own answer. What I expect of myself is to do my best with every opportunity that I am trusted to play. My priority now in building repertoire is because there are so many wonderful organ music in my list “pieces to learn”. It is impossible to learn all of them in my life time. It is not necessarily sounds like: this year goal, 10 pieces! To set this kind of goal mostly will end up in contra productive for me. However, the most important thing is I keep learning. What is horrible to me is I stop improving at all, keep recycling my repertoire I have learned in Bachelor for a lifetime.
Music of the night is one sweet organ piece that in my “pieces to learn” list, played by Ludger Lohmann, I attended his master class in year 2019 and 2021. When am I going to learn this is still a huge question mark. Anyway, enjoy the music!
Then Elijah lay down under the bush and went to sleep.
An angel came to him and touched him.
The angel said, “Get up and eat!”
Elijah looked around,
and by his head there was a cake that had been baked over coals and a jar of water.
He ate and drank and then went back to sleep.
Later the Lord’s angel came to him again, touched him, and said,
“Get up and eat! If you don’t, you will not be strong enough to make the long trip.”
So Elijah got up. He ate and drank and felt strong.
Then Elijah walked for 40 days and nights to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God.
1 Kings 19:5-8 ERV
Note:
This is a book that I won in an Instagram give away action, it is about magical places to regain energy. I gained energy when I am spending time in the nature. That’s why the walk after dinner makes me feel so good. What about you?