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InnerSelf's Daily Inspiration
August 22, 2024
The focus for today is:
I am learning to alter my view so that I accept
that everything and everyone changes, including me.
Today's inspiration was written by Stephen Nachmanovitch:
How can we learn to alter our view so that we accept that we change, go off in unplanned directions, make mistakes? How can we view growth and decay, joy and pain, as part of an indissoluble continuum?
We cannot be identified with our parts, because our parts keep changing, and their relationship to everyone else’s parts keeps changing. Life is not suffering. Clinging to forms that we try to predict and control — “this is how things must be” — that is the prescription for suffering.
To improvise is to act in accordance with what is happening now, with who you are now, with who your companions are. At the same time, we realize that this now flows within a long sequence of nows. To improvise is to find the pattern in these happenings and develop it into something interesting, without expecting that it will turn out a certain way.
CONTINUE READING:
Today's inspiration was adapted from the InnerSelf.com article:
Is This The Way It’s Supposed To Be?
by Stephen Nachmanovitch.
Read the complete article here.
This is Marie T. Russell, co-publisher of InnerSelf.com, wishing you a day of being willing to improvise with life (today and every day)
Comment from Marie: There's a saying: Man plans and God laughs. We love to make plans. This is our way of trying to ensure our security, our future. But, I've learned that not only do things not always go according to my plans, but the plans themselves change as time goes along. The concept of being willing to improvise with life is a wonderful one. In improvisation each sentence or response is based on the sentence or action that preceded it. There is no plan... just an in the moment response to the situation. And when we can live our life that way, as an improvisation, it goes smoothly. When we insist on sticking to our plans, things can get rough.
Our focus for today: I am learning to alter my view so that I accept that everything and everyone changes, including me.
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RELATED BOOK: The Art of Is
The Art of Is: Improvising as a Way of Life
by Stephen Nachmanovitch
“The Art of Is is a philosophical meditation on living, living fully, living in the present. To the author, an improvisation is a co-creation that arises out of listening and mutual attentiveness, out of a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity. Drawing from the wisdom of the ages, The Art of Is not only gives the reader an inside view of the states of mind that give rise to improvisation, it is also a celebration of the power of the human spirit, which — when exercised with love, immense patience, and discipline — is an antidote to hate.” — Yo-Yo Ma, cellist (Book is also available in Kindle format. Audiobook, and MP3 CD)
For more info and/or to order this book, click here.
About the Author
Stephen Nachmanovitch, PhD performs and teaches internationally as an improvisational violinist, and at the intersections of music, dance, theater, and multimedia arts. In the 1970s he was a pioneer in free improvisation on violin, viola and electric violin. He has presented master classes and workshops at many conservatories and universities, and has had numerous appearances on radio, television, and at music and theater festivals. He has collaborated with other artists in media including music, dance, theater, and film, and has developed programs melding art, music, literature, and computer technology. He has created computer software including The World Music Menu and Visual Music Tone Painter. He is the author of Free Play (Penguin, 1990) and The Art of Is (New World Library, 2019). Visit his website at http://www.freeplay.com/
