My parish priest pointed out this week, that one drop of rain seems to do very little, and even one day of rain hardly makes a difference for a crop. But in the end, all of these drops of rain together have led to the production of the crop, and have a hand in its harvest. How is a plant built then? Drop by drop by drop.
If we look for a result from each drop, we will experience frustration and annoyance. It is the collective effort that matters, and the collective effort takes time, a larger vision, and patience.
This morning it occurred to me that I practice a skill every day that I am hardly aware of.
Every day, I spend a few hours looking over the shoulder of a piano student at a music book, somewhat like this guy here:
I am focused on teaching in those moments, translating symbols on a page into beautiful music for the student to enjoy.
But in the meantime, all those hours and hours of practice have led me to develop a skill. Now I am able to glance at a piece of music for five minutes and memorize the entire thing. I have memorized Fur Elise, Minuet in G, and lots of other fun little pieces, just by watching the music over my student's shoulder.
I have been practicing reading. I have been practicing synthesizing patterns of music and generating large-scale plans from them. Today, I wrote out Carol of the Bells for a student, using triangles and squares to represent musical patterns that repeated. Without needing to notate on the staff, the student walked away with a clear picture of the music in an easy way to understand.
The point of this isn't to brag about this skill, although I was amazed to realize I now have an ability to do something complex without really focusing, or trying to develop it. Nonetheless, I have practiced it every day.
When we aren't counting each single drop of rain in our lives, we tend not to notice the collective effort, the overall development. We practice many habits without thinking of what they will one day become for us. Sometimes it helps to think about what positive daily habits will create for our lives in general.
-Doing household chores each day eventually leads you to find creative ways to make big jobs more efficient.
-Practicing kind words of affirmation for family members leads to harmony and good spirit in the household
-Remembering to see and thank people for the little things they do to make your life easier leads to good friendships
-Habits of decorating the house for each season leads to your children developing an excitement about each season of life
-Practicing an awareness of the needs of those around you leads to a life of generosity and love
-Practicing getting up at the same time each morning leads to greater discipline in your life, which leads to regularity and a sense of purpose.
-Practicing making your bed and keeping your space tidy leads to a sense of your own worth and value
-Practicing thinking kindly toward yourself as a friend leads you to patience with yourself and room for you to be who you are and grow to who you are meant to be.
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