My 1-Minute Wednesday series pairs a brief piece of music with a piece of thought-provoking text. MOVEMENT This piece is a form of life affirmation. I often battle bouts of low energy, when Motivation has fled and Apathy has me in a chokehold. Whatever course we take, the solution is never to wait for motivation’s return. We might as well wait for Godot. We think we need energy to act. But the opposite is equally true. Action generates energy. Objects at rest tend to stay at

My 1-Minute Wednesday series pairs a brief piece of music with a piece of thought-provoking text. SUBLIMATION We must all cope with painful emotions such as grief, fear, guilt, loneliness. Many coping mechanisms aren’t helpful; some even make things worse. But music and other arts have the power to transform the negative into positive, life-affirming expressions. Music heals where words fail. Perhaps that’s why I’ve always been drawn to instrumental music: It speaks on a more

My 1-Minute Wednesday series pairs a brief piece of music with a piece of thought-provoking text. OUR IMMINENT LIVES Society is irreversibly fixated on the future. This goes well beyond having dreams, setting goals, and making plans. We are obsessed with the image of a better tomorrow, a brighter future. It seems difficult for us to relax without believing that our best days are ahead of us. This assumption keeps us motivated, we think. Yet, for many of us, the present moment

“Hard to believe it’s already December,” said a student, as we wrapped up his guitar lesson. “I know. Guess it’s time to actually try to get something done this year,” I joked. I always look forward to this time of year, and certainly not for the weather: Turning over the year affords us an opportunity to reflect, take stock, and correct course. I’m a list-maker and goal-setter (some would call it obsessive, me included). It's not always a positive thing. Towards the end of e