No one can play who is forced to play.
James P. Carse
I've been asking myself at the 7th month mark what the practice and study of music means to me, beyond the initial exploratory phase. So far, it's been
- An enjoyable and satisfying way to spend my time
- An avenue to experience active meditation
- A means of healing from trauma
- A source of challenges and stretching out of my comfort zone continually
- An endless game by which I can continually be surprised
I think the last point is something that I've been thinking about. I've continually found myself to be drawn to the topic of playing infinite games, in the sense of play being the constant and focus without attention paid to outcomes, results and some "ending". I like it when I get surprises - when I find myself reaching for a technique that was not possible just a month ago, or discovering a new song from an unexpected place, or rediscovering an old song that I thought I knew but now a new perspective has revealed itself... music just feels like an endless expanse of surprises.
I like what I'm seeing so far - every new song learnt or experienced is not an end, but a phase that simply gives way to yet another song, another topic, another way to look at things.