It just occurred to me that this post is shaping up to be doubly referential...first in a punny way, because I'm going to write about yokes, and I just got done with phase two of egg-devilling...the bit where you have to peel the eggs and scoop out all the yolks....
Ahhh, fun with homonyms!
So, I'm borrowing material from my church gig again (which I sort of got permission to do...or rather, I confessed to one of the folks from whom I borrow that I've been borrowing for blog purposes, and he seemed to like the idea). Today's gospel reading would sound familiar to anyone who knows part I of Messiah....it included:
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart."
and
"For his yoke is easy, and his burden is light"
The sermon focused on this text, and the preacher said several things that struck me, but maybe the most striking was this: he thinks that the idea of the yoke being easy comes from our truest and most important work in life being the authentic expression of our most honest selves, and as a result, the work is not onerous -- it feels like freedom. I am inclined to say that this kind of work is frequently anything but easy in the objective terms of hours and energy. However, I have long believed that the work that is most authentically ours doesn't feel like work. Being needed for what we love to give is a profound experience -- sometimes we get lucky, and it happens almost by accident. Sometimes we spend years being discontented and can't quite figure out why until we think or talk or journal ourselves into realizing what it is we need to change in order to be in the place we need to be.
This is the last of the forty-nine weeks for my students in Baltimore. In just a few short days, it'll all begin again, and it'll be a lot of work. And, while I hope this year's solfa students take some time this week to refresh their memories on some things for the weeks to come, I also hope there is time to reflect on what it is we're about to do. We are about to take up the yoke of furthering our musical education, and the hours will be long. In these last few days before the program begins in full force, it seems exceptionally important to rekindle and recapture a sense of purpose. I understand that getting a pay raise for having a graduate degree may be motivation enough to skate through a program like the one in which we participate, but it is definitely not enough to motivate heart, hand, ear, and intelligence to come together and give our whole selves to the study of the art we love.
So, my dear students, I exhort you: don't just show up and go through the motions. Homework may feel like a bummer, and that's understandable. But as you do your work, remind yourself of what you actually have the opportunity to achieve:
-Deeper, more comprehensive musicianship
-A more conscious and richer appreciation for music
-Strong, mutually beneficial connections with like-minded colleagues
-Discovery of things you've never learned
-Shoring-up of weaknesses that have held you back
-Uncovering hidden strengths in yourself and others
-High-level music-making in a challenging environment
None of this is trivial, and in the end, all of it is about you and your personal gain. Obviously, your students stand to gain from a teacher who is more musical and more musically fulfilled, but YOU are the one who gets to be fulfilled by your work. YOU are the one who gets to grow. These are gifts that no one can ever take from you. They are also gifts that only YOU can give yourself.
So, I challenge you all: recalling your purpose and knowing the musical wealth that awaits you, resolve to enter this year's session with open minds and hearts, ready to give from the depths of yourselves, and ready to receive unthinkable riches that can belong only to you.
Take up the yoke of musicianship, because in truth....the yoke is easy, and the burden is light.
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