Small Moments, Lived Well

When we see someone online play a piece note-perfect, we are seeing the fruit of more time than we would ever suspect.
Professional players have often spent hundreds of practice hours on a 3-minute piece of music.  And even more time working on basic skills and abilities.
When we see and hear them, it appears simple.  It looks easy.  So we again assume incorrectly.  We chalk it up to talent or luck.
But the reality is that high-level playing is possible for anyone (physical limitations aside).  It’s all matter of minutes and hours.
Luckily, time will pass whether we practice or not.  In three years, we will either have three more years of practice behind us, or we won’t.
We don’t need more time in the day.  There’s no race or competition.  No one cares how well we play.  Guitar is a personal challenge and pursuit.  Others may support and encourage, but they don’t care whether we practice each day or not.
The trick to putting in more time on something is to enjoy the practice.  And this is born of creating small, achievable challenges, and meeting them.  Over and over.  We find something slightly difficult then we work on it.
We get feelings of satisfaction from winning the challenge.  And our skills expand bit by bit, day after day.
We can (and should) still care about short-term results.  We need the motivation that comes from success.
But we can also keep the long-term in mind.  We can accept that pieces may take months or years to play well.  Our speed and agility may take months and years to improve to where we want them.
Like life itself, our music is made of small moments, lived well.  And the more we focus on process and quality, the smoother and more quickly we enjoy the fruits.
From a website I follow:  https://www.classicalguitarshed.com/
The specific post / page is:  https://www.classicalguitarshed.com/tq-raymond-joseph-teller-magic-time/
[Please visit the original site if you have a few moments…    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Two Happy
	Every Time I Look Around
	Boxing (Day: 3) – Double-End Target Setup
2019	Stand Up, Hook Up, Shuffle To The Door…
2018	Ridiculous Idea
2017	Waddle On!
	A Severe Challenge — When The President Is A Liar
2016	The Best Of Circumstances
2015	Reverberating Silence
2014	Wrong Again?
2013	Improper Faith
2012	One More Rung
2011	Sunday Morning Earlies (Hugging trees and smiling…)
	Hurry
	Updates On Life
2010	It’s Gettin’ Deep In Here

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A Loss Of Happiness

My mind has changed during the last twenty or thirty years…  Poetry of many kinds… gave me great pleasure…  Pictures gave me considerable, and music very great delight…  But now for many years I cannot endure to read a line of poetry…  Music generally sets me thinking too energetically on what I have been at work on, instead of giving me pleasure.  I retain some taste for fine scenery, but it does not cause me the exquisite delight which it formerly did.
…
My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain alone, on which the higher tastes depend, I cannot conceive.  A man with a mind more highly organised or better constituted than mine, would not, I suppose, have thus suffered;  and if I had to live my life again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week;  for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would thus have been kept active through use.  The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature.
—     Charles Darwin
From:  “The Autobiography of Charles Darwin: 1809-1882“
[Originally found at one of the blogs / websites I follow:  https://www.themarginalian.org/
The specific post is:  https://www.themarginalian.org/2021/11/28/darwin-life/
Please visit the original site if you have a some time…    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Wear A Damn Mask!
	I Can’t Stay For Long
	Boxing (#2): First Lessons
2019	A Surprisingly Good Way
	It’s Official X-mas (Tree) At Home
2018	Weight / Health Update
	What’s Happening With You?
2017	The Great Leveler
	Conservative Depressions
2016	Election + 1 Month
2015	Dance And Sing
2014	A Measuring Stick For Progress
2013	Courtly Love Or Victory Over Habit
2012	Have We Met?
2011	Efficiently Useless

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Experience A Simple Whatever

Experience one beautiful thing a day.  However small.  However trivial.  Read a poem.  Play a favorite song.  Laugh with a friend.  Gaze at the sky just before the sun’s final tumble toward night.  Watch a classic movie.  Eat a slice of lemon drizzle cake.  Whatever.  Just give yourself one simple reminder that the world is full of wonders.  Even if we are at a point in life where we can’t appreciate things, it sometimes helps to remember there are things in this world to enjoy, when we are ready.
—     Matt Haig
From: “The Comfort Book”
[Found at a blog I follow:  https://davidkanigan.com/
The specific post is:  https://davidkanigan.com/2021/09/20/monday-morning-wake-up-call-269/
Please visit the original site if you have a free moment…    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Talking Politics With Trump Republicans
	In Another Lifetime
2019	People Will Come
	Change Is Here…
2018	Be My Hero – Vote Tomorrow!
	He Was All Of Us…
2017	Black And White
	Advice For #DumbDonald
2016	Mirror, Mirror
2015	Speaking With Forked Tongue
2014	The Code
2013	Eventually Formed
2012	Remember To Vote Tomorrow
2011	It Sounds Like Chaos Theory To Me

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Looking Up

This is why I much prefer autumn to spring, because in autumn you look at the sky.  In spring, the earth.
—     Søren Kierkegaard
[Found at one of the blogs I follow:  https://gabrieleromano.wordpress.com/
The specific post was:  https://gabrieleromano.wordpress.com/2021/10/02/october-has-arrived/
Please visit the original site if you have a spare moment…    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	#45: Or All-Consuming Greed
	You Could Have Told Me Yourself
2019	Not Personal
2018	Preference For Irrationality
2017	All At Once
2016	One Of My Vices
2015	The War Lord
2014	Orange October (II) – Giants Win NLDS Game 2 In 18 Innings (2 to 1)!!
	Acknowledging Doubt
2013	Fulfilled Acceptance
2012	Error Is Tolerated Here (So Far)
2011	In Defense Of Pain

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Three Musts

Just living is not enough…  one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.
—     Hans Christian Andersen
[This quote is widely available on the web, but I recently found it on a blog I follow: https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com
The link for the specific post is:  https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2020/06/20/just-living-is-not-enough/
Like almost all of my “re-posts” from other blogs / websites, this excerpt is being posted without prior permission.  As such, I will remove / correct the post if requested by the the owner.  I am making no claim to ownership of the quote, the full post or to the original web site.  This is a blog I have been following for some time.
Please visit the original site if you have some time.    —     KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	One Ordinary Man
2019	Without A Doubt
2018	Mathematically Speaking
	119 Days And Counting
2017	Both Odd And Exceptional
2016	Private Entrance
	Camping Out In Camden
2015	Quality Government
	A Handful Of Flics
2014	Just Another Brick From The Wall
2013	Artistic Demands
2012	Foundations
2011	Are We Devouring Yet?

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The Right Questions

Ask the right questions, and nature will open the door to her secrets.
—    Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata (CV) Raman
Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930
[This quote is from a blog I follow: https://ram0singhal.wordpress.com/
The link for the specific post is:  https://ram0singhal.wordpress.com/2021/06/15/nobel-prize-1930-in-physics/
Like almost all of my “re-posts” from other blogs / websites, this quote is being posted without prior permission.  As such, I will remove the post if requested by the the owner.  I am making no claim to ownership of the quote, the full post or to the original web site.  Please visit the original site if you have some time.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	#DonTheCon: Why The Oval Office Is Dark
2019	Begin Now
2018	Do You See Him At The Border
2017	Keep Moving Forward
2016	That Which You Restore
	The Best Of Disinfectants
2015	Thousands
2014	What We Can
2013	Mostly Unsound
2012	Malcontent
2011	What Have You Seen Lately?
	Just Perspire!

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The Truth Shall Keep Us Free

The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.
—    George Orwell
[This quote is widely available on the web, but I recently found it on a blog I follow: https://aponderingmind.org/
The link for the specific post is: https://aponderingmind.org/2021/06/25/the-further-a-society-drifts-from-truth-the-more-it-will-hate-those-who-speak-it-george-orwell/
Like almost all of my “re-posts” from other blogs / websites, this excerpt is being posted without prior permission.  As such, I will remove / correct the post if requested by the the owner.  I am making no claim to ownership of the quote, the full post or to the original web site.  This is a blog I have been following for some time.
Please visit the original site if you have some time.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	But What About Tomorrow’s Blog Post?
2019	Don’t Forget Obstruction Of Justice
	An Honest, Unvarnished Assessment
2018	#45 And The Republicans Are Pretending (So Far)
2017	Made
2016	Halves
	Accepted Fraud
2015	Even The Little Ones
2014	Who’s On First?
2013	No Equal Measure
2012	A Single Host
2011	No Exemptions
2010	Memories Of KSA – Inside The Fire

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Would You Know How?

What if the heart could become unguarded.  Would you know how to handle the feelings that would flood within you?  What if the most powerful defense against death was complete and utter surrender to the ache of passion which begs, and tempts, and tugs at the veins without relent.
—    Allison Marie Conway
[This quote is from a blog I follow:  https://allisonmarieconway.com
The link for the specific post is:  https://allisonmarieconway.com/2021/07/02/streams-of-quiet-light-audio/
Like almost all of my “re-posts” from other blogs / websites, this excerpt is being posted without prior permission.  As such, I will remove the post if requested by the the owner.  I am making no claim to ownership of the excerpt, the full post or to the original web site.  This is a blog I have been following for some time.  A word of caution:  the site is intended for mature audiences and occasionally contains writing of a graphic and / or sexual nature.   Please visit the original site if you have some time.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Learn To Forgive Yourself
	Violating Guidelines
2019	I Walk Faster (Too)
2018	Modern Day Behaviour
2017	On Misogynist Tweets From #DumbDonald
2016	Cowboy Boots & Missing Teeth
	Or Electricity
2015	Oh, To Be Vulnerable
2014	Neglected Horror
2013	The Price Of Illusions
2012	Once Again
2011	And The “Market” Isn’t Always Right

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It Doesn’t Stop

The trouble is even if you write something good you still have to write something else.  You still have to write again.  And again after that.  The itch doesn’t stop.  The need does not subside.  It is not erased just because you gave a thing a chance.
—    Allison Marie Conway
[This has been “borrowed” from one of the blogs / sites I follow:  https://allisonmarieconway.com/  without advance permission.  I hope the author doesn’t mind.  This excerpt is a part of a longer post at the original site and is posted here because the words resonated with (for?) me.  They strike at the core of a writer’s “need” to write, but I imagine the need is the same for any artist in any genre.
The specific post is located at:  Eventually You Break – Allison Marie Conway
https://allisonmarieconway.com/2021/05/26/eventually-you-break/
Her writing is quite good, but does tend to “adult” themes.  Give her site a view if you have a spare moment.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	#45: 14.81 Lies Per Day
2019	Less Miserable Now
	So Near And Yet So Far
2018	I Doubt #45 Is Listening?
2017	Life’s Oddity
2016	Just Asking…
2015	Two Thoughts On Thinking
2014	From The Top, Please…
2013	You Are The Stars
2012	Just One??
2011	Anything But

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A Chance Meeting Finds A Way

I believe in the magic of books.  I believe that during certain periods in our lives we are drawn to particular books — whether it’s strolling down the aisles of a bookshop with no idea whatsoever of what it is that we want to read and suddenly finding the most perfect, most wonderfully suitable book staring us right in the face.  Unblinking.  Or a chance meeting with a stranger or friend who recommends a book we would never ordinarily reach for.  Books have the ability to find their own way into our lives.
―    Cecelia Ahern
[This quote is available at multiple locations on the web, but I originally found it as a post on one of the blogs I follow:  I didn’t have my glasses on….
The specific post is:  the magic of books.   Which can be found at:   https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2021/05/08/24719/
Please give the site a visit if you have some spare time.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	The Magnitude Of The Challenge
2019	Still Tearing, Still Being Rewarded
2018	Nothing More, Nothing Less
2017	Memorial Day – 2017
	No Wonder I’m Smiling
2016	Thinking Science Fictional
2015	Dawn Is Coming
2014	Back When I Was A Firebrand
2013	Pen In Hand
	Word Up!
2012	Disturbing
	Trying To Keep Up
2011	Unreliable And Selective
2010	Adult-Onset Athlete

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Even If It’s A Nice View

You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.
—    Rabindranath Tagore
[Originally found at one of the blogs I follow:  The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally
The link to the specific post is:   https://annkoplow.wordpress.com/2017/10/16/day-1750-water/
Please visit the original site if you have a spare minute…    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	First Steps – The (California) Primary Vote
	#IncompetentTrump Administration Faces A Pandemic
2019	Hearts Torn In Every Way
2018	Recently Seen On A T-shirt:
2017	Rhythmical Creation
2016	In The Beginning
2015	False Gods
2014	But Sometimes Careers Choose People
2013	Pretty Sure Of Uncertainty
2012	Face Reality
2011	Intelligent Luck

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Suggestions…

Walk
Love
Read
Think
Garden
Stay Safe
Be Patient
Shop Local
Wear A Mask
Open Your Heart
Educate Yourself
Hug Someone In Your Bubble
Call Your Parents (or Children)
Practice Tolerance
…Just Be Kind
[And if none of the above are possible for you: A slice of pizza, a glass of red wine and listening to some music is nice, too.  —  KMAB]
[Most of the above list has been “borrowed” from one of the blogs I follow:  “I Didn’t Have My Glasses On“
The specific post which contained her list can be located at:  http://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2020/06/27/just-be-kind/
Please check out the original blog if you have a free moment…  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Until November… Then Vote
2019	Start With Health And Friends
	Iterum Vale Tres*
2018	Tweets From The Disrupter-In-Chief
2017	Do We Still Listen To Her Silent Lips?
	Not Now, Not Ever
2016	Why Do You Write/Blog?
2015	Can Your Repeat The Question, Please?
2014	On Faith
2013	My Name Is Charles Stein
2012	Faiths And Sorcery
	Made And Kept Free
2011	Multi-Source Learning

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I Like The Feeling

I don’t believe in religion, but the aesthetics of Catholicism have stuck with me.   …   There is so much attention to detail.
I envy the faithful.  There are shrines dotted around the hillsides here in Ireland, places where saints have supposedly appeared and healed the sick.  There are wells of holy water and statues in the rocks, huts filled with prayer cards and gardens filled with painted stones in memory of loved ones who have passed away.  I like to visit them occasionally.  I sit in the stillness and observe people crying and praying and I close my eyes and try to let some of their hope get carried on the air and through my pores.  I would like to believe that everything is accounted for, that there is life after this one, and that all of our decisions hold some kind of significance or moral worth.  There is weight in religion.  It is an anchor of sorts.
I cannot believe in the vengeful patriarch of the Catholic Church but sometimes, in the daytime, when there’s no one around, I go into the church and light a candle.  I like sitting in the quiet and sensing my own insubstantiality against such old and serious things. I am learning that there is a good kind of smallness; a smallness in the face of the universe rather than a smallness in my own body.  I like the ritual of prayer and reverence, even though I can’t identify with it.  I like the feeling that other people believe in something.
—    Jessica Andrews
From:  “Saltwater: A Novel“
[This quote was found on one of the blogs I follow:  “Live & Learn“
Located at:  https://davidkanigan.com/
The specific post is at:  https://davidkanigan.com/2020/07/19/sunday-morning-124/
Please visit the site if you have a minute.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	Somebody’s Watching You
2018	First From Within
2017	Or Vote Against You
2016	Cupid Must Say It Too
2015	Some Of This And A Pinch Of That
2014	Consensus Is Only One Side
2013	Not Ought
2012	If You Want To, If You Have Something To Offer
2011	I See Lots Of Fools
2010	Orange Inside!!
	And The Band Played On…
	Happy New Year!!

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The Responsibility Side Is On The Right

Yes, in this country we have freedom, we have rights, but our rights end when they infringe on the health and safety of others.
We have rights, but we also have responsibilities.  When did we forget the responsibility side of the equation?
Our love of freedom causes us to make wise choices to keep each other safe.
Our freedom engenders concern and compassion.  Our freedom gives us strength, not weakness.  Our freedom makes us bold.  Our freedom gives us dignity.  Our freedom causes us to protect the most vulnerable among us.  Our freedom generates in us the desire to do the right thing.
Our freedom prompts us to wear a mask.
From the site:   Meditations in Motion
Located at:  https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/
The specific post is at:  https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2020/08/16/wearing-the-masks-of-freedom-and-love/
[Please visit the original site if you have a spare moment.   —   KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	Define Your Life…
2018	It Is No Secret
	Day 25: When 4 or 5 equals 2
2017	Cowardly Defamation
2016	With No Allowance For Chance?
2015	Details
2014	Here’s One…
2013	Non-Fungible Commodities
2012	Hope And Tears
2011	Just Long Enough
	Meaningful Thoughts

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Michigan Countdown

day 1, 99 to go.
“there may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.“
—    elie wiesel
[The text / quote above is a portion of a post which as been copied from one of the sites I follow:  I didn’t have my glasses on….
This specific post was titled:  “Peaceful.” and the specific link to the post is:  https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2020/07/27/peace-for-all/
The site is mostly about family and life in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan.  (And occasionally about politics.)  I encourage any of my readers with a spare moment to visit the site.  I think you’ll find it time well spent.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	Speak Up / Call Out
2018	Does Smiling Count?
2017	Giving Much
2016	Sounds Like Class
2015	Inert Ideas
2014	Worth Anything?
2013	Bruises Before Bed (Or Why You Didn’t Answer)
	Revealed Riches
2012	Extra Gears
2011	Say What?
2010	Hello Frogs…

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