Noted - episode 2




Oddly, as one who's never short of something to say, this week - I have found it somewhat challenging to write. To use an appropriately musical metaphor, I liken this particular post to that difficult follow up second album; prone to disappoint after a somewhat successful debut. Additionally, I wasn't sure what day to post this week, as I'm sure like many others I don't even know what day it is any more, there's a huge jigsaw on the kitchen table and worse than that, my food brain thinks it's Christmas. Do know that I am taking steps to try to combat this, and I'm now fairly sure that a week (or something??) into lockdown, if that-which-must-not-be-named* doesn't kill me, working out with Joe Wicks is almost certainly going to...

Ultimately, I have decided to combine this week's offering with the launch of our online Sharing site... which we’ve worked really hard with the team at Squeegee Design to get up and running this week. The idea is to have an online forum where we feature music making and creativity from the young people of York. The area is monitored, will be updated regularly and is for anyone who had a concert cancelled, a festival pulled, an exam postponed or indeed anyone who's using this time to work on being musical. Share the joy people, share the joy.


Although, if you aren't feeling that creative just now and are a bit overwhelmed (as I was on discovering that during his lockdown during the plague outbreak in 1665, Sir Isaac Newton wrote his theory of gravity amongst other things. No pressure then), or you're feeling bombarded by the plethora of artistic contributions cascading across social media, I came across this article that really helped.

I know that some of us (myself included) are prone to filling our lives with doing 'things', and find it hard to cope with the unstructured-ness of the current times and I know it's really hard to just...



I haven't totally stopped and am still working, however, I have found real pleasure in the things I don't usually make time for. It has been quite liberating to feel less rushed and frantic, I'm attempting to learn to crotchet (yes really), it's been really lovely to sing for pleasure with my children, delightful to bake with the eldest, and massively insightful to read - uninterrupted - with my youngest every day. Her very thoughtful and tech savvy teacher has set the class a daily online reading task and we're really enjoying the discussions that are growing out of that.

The book she's reading, 'Wonder' by R.J. Palacio was introduced to me by hugely inspiring fellow teacher a few years ago and I read in a weekend. It's full of beauty, joy and optimism alongside struggle and challenge and darkness. It feels very apt just now, particularly the part we read today, in which we are introduced to the idea of Precepts or life rules. I photographed the passage below which is a response to the Precept "Our deeds are our monuments". That feels resonant at the moment, particularly as we're invite young people to share with us their music making, their achievements, their deeds.






If our deeds are our monuments and the things we do are what we'll be remembered for, I wonder, what the world will make of my efforts to find some joy this week - making a genuinely silly but awfully fun, lipsynch video featuring the choir I sing with, I'll let you decide...
*Just the one pseudo-mention this week...

Comments

  1. Thanks for this, a great read! And a timely message for me, to slow down a little. I am also a great fan of the book, Wonder... it might be time to revisit that in our house too.

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    Replies
    1. That book just seems to hold endless wisdom and it has been joyful to read it in such a relaxed way.

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