This is the word that sprang to mind yesterday morning as I drove over to Saltaire, and as soon as I got there I inked it onto my hand so it was in my awareness all day. I wanted to ensure that my students were moving on and I was thinking of ways in which I could help with this. As I walked to the shop, I started thinking of the pedal harp and that it might be time for someone to give it a try. My first student arrived and immediately 'fessed up to not having practiced much for the very valid reason of being away for her 50th birthday in a suitably exciting tropical destination as well as organising her celebration this weekend. She was in need of some inspiration and wondered about trying the pedal harp. Bear in mind this is without me mentioning my earlier thoughts. I wheeled in the stunning ebony model as I pondered the potential of my psychic powers. She took to it like a duck to water, immediately realising the benefit of using pedals over levers in her preferred classical and romantic repertoire, not to mention the postural comfort. We'll see what happens, it's a massive investment and in my opinion quite a nice 50th gift to oneself. She could also hire a pedal harp for a few months just to see.
My students came and went and I felt privileged as they shared their joys and woes with me, and I tentatively shared a few of mine. Time flew and although I had a full six hours teaching, I felt energised afterwards. I was very much in the moment for most of the day with very little drifting. I wasn't worried about needing to practice when I got home and I know from experience that it's futile after a full day. I met up with a good friend briefly in my scant 30 minute break and as we sought to sate our caffeine craving to no avail, I think an express espresso pop-up on Saltaire's main drag would be a stroke of genius. Copyright Rhian Evans.
I felt a bit awkward directing my students to my website and this blog but I realised that this is a great way for me to share my knowledge of the harp and music and some tips on practising and approach in one place. Not everyone is on Facebook! I recently went through lots of old papers in my decluttering and found some pearls of wisdom from my undergraduate years that are valid to this day. I also did something I haven't done for a long time. As my welcome home cuppa brewed, I went to my music library and got out some new old pieces that came up during the day. There's a sense of potential in the air.
In setting myself up for meditation yesterday morning, I realised with mild horror that I forgot to meditate yesterday. Gone was my 177 day streak! My playful innate competitiveness is still there but much tamer these days. Somewhat ironically my meditation is on regret. That tickled me afterwards.
On Thursday evening I received a last minute enquiry for a job tomorrow. It was taken almost immediately. I then got a call and an email yesterday afternoon saying that it was available again and then it got filled, again. Just missed - twice! I'm ok about it all. I'm becoming quite Zen in my maturity, I'm just meant to be somewhere else tomorrow...
