Passion + Discipline = Bliss

 I found this week's quotation, from Yehudi Menuhin, one of the greatest violinists of the last century, fascinating. as it could be read in two different ways. It says, "Bliss is above all moderation."

And I realised that this could be taken in two ways:

        1 [Bliss is above] [all moderation]

        2 [Bliss is] [above all] [moderation].

Which mean very different things. Did he mean that bliss is the most important thing and that it trumps moderation in every case? Or did he mean that bliss is all about moderation? And what does moderation mean, anyway? I checked the word on the wonderful website Power Thesaurus, and was presented with alternatives which included "restraint", "control" and "prudence". 

So I googled 'Yehudi Menuhin quotes' to see what else he had written, and found that he seems to be advocating both bliss and moderation. In one quote, he wrote, "Music creates order out of chaos: for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous." Which seems to suggest that he values the disciplinary aspects of music - how it enables unanimity, continuity and compatibility - balance. He also asked, "Do we not find freedom along the guiding lines of discpline?"

He was clear that if he wanted to play well, he would need to work hard. He wrote, "To be an outstanding musician, you have to be very attentive to the smallest detail, and willing to have infinite patience in the pursuit of your ideal. You require absolute control and professionalism."

 

On the other hand, he also wrote, "Improvisation is the expression of the accumulated yearnings, dreams, and wisdom of the soul." And said that "the violinist is that peculiarly human phenomenon distilled to a rare potency - half-tiger, half-poet." He saw music as "a path between ourselves and the infinite."

So I come to the conclusion that Menuhin believed that it is necessary to combine your passion for your craft (whatever that is) with the discipline to practice it regularly, so that you will be able to achieve greeat things. It is when you combine the passion and the discipline that the bliss results.

I recognise the truth of this from my own discipline as a writer. I love writing and know that if I want to become the best writer I can be, I need to sit down every day and write something. And that when I do, the result will sometimes be blissful. And that is worth all the times of frustration and struggle which are a concomitant part of the writer's life.

Discipline vs Indulgence

Over the last few weeks, I have been uneasily conscious of the fact that I have been letting things I ought to do, and actually enjoy when I'm doing them, slide, in favour of reading, doing a jigsaw on my iPad, or just watching TV.

Not that there is anything wrong with reading, jigsaws or TV-watching, but I also wanted to find the time to do things which would nourish my soul: a half-hour sit in the morning, carrying on with my novel, which has been sitting half-done on my computer for months, and doing regular piano practice.

I had been trying to turn the daily piano practice into a habit for some time, with very little success.

Then I had my light bulb moment. I am very much a morning person, a lark rather than an owl, so why not get these things done straight after I get up? Excitedly, I wrote myself a timetable:

0600 - 0630  Get up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast.
0630 - 0700  E-mails, daily Recognition, check Facebook.
0700 - 0730  Sit / pray
0730 - 0830  Write
0830 - 0915  Piano practice (30 minutes if I have to be out of the door by 9.00)

I shared this idea with a friend, who wrote back: "How disciplined it all sounds but I am sure it is good if it works for you."

And it does! It may sound unpleasantly regimented, and to some extent it is. However, it does mean that I get to spend two and a quarter hours every morning, nourishing my soul. Two and a quarter whole hours of time spent doing things that I like to do, that make me feel better about myself, that make me feel more connected with the world. To me, it sounds like a huge indulgence, rather than a discipline.

Then at 9.00 am (or 9.15 am) I feel refreshed, invigorated, and ready to get on with my day. And without the cloud of "you ought to fit in writing / piano practice some time today" hanging over my head. It's done, and I feel so free!

For me as a morning person, and as someone who Gretchen Rubin describes, in her book 'The Four Tendencies', as a Questioner, this works very well. But I can understand why others would look at my timetable with horror and loathing. It all depends on your perspective, and on your inner tendency.

She divides people into four types: Upholders, who meet inner and outer expectations easily; Questioners, who meet inner expectations, but not outer ones; Obligers, who meet outer expectations, but find it hard to discipline themselves; and Rebels, who hate any kind of expectations.

Before reading the book, I had thought that I was an Upholder. But it soon became very clear that I am a Questioner. Questioners are very good at meeting inner expectations, things they set themselves to do, which make sense to them. But they question all other expectations - especially those imposed by others. They will only do something if it makes sense to them.

So once I had decided that doing these things daily - sitting for 30 minutes, writing for an hour, practising the piano for 30/45 minutes - could easily be fitted in to the first three hours of my day, and would make me feel good, it has become easy to do them.

I would recommend the book to anyone who has trouble with "ought to" and "should" in their lives.