The value of taking your time
We live in a world of instants: Instant coffee, instant shopping, instant updates. Everything we want is at our fingertips. Not that log ago, we had to to send someone a letter and wait for a reply. Or go to a store to order something, and then wait for them to call you to let you know it had arrived. It was normal to have a gap of time between getting an idea to carrying it out. And there was a lot of trial and error involved along the way.
We are, of course, incredibly privileged to have access to so much information and all these new opportunities -but with it comes a responsibility to discern which areas of our lives do not benefit from the instant mindset. Learning is certainly one of them.
I recently saw a joke ad that read ‘Yes! You too can become a master of the piano in the unbelievably short time of two decades!’ So true: You can begin today, you can make progress this week; get much better this month. But mastery takes time. The painter Pierre Bonnard once lamented ‘A painter should have two lives, one in which to learn, and one in which to practice his art.’ This could be said to be true of everything else we do in life that is worth being good at: Parenting, relationships, making art; they all take a lifetime if you really want to hone your skills. And though this may annoy us modern humans who have gotten used to instant results, this is something that will never change. We may as well take a long view and enjoy the ride.
Last weekend, I had my private students for their first post-covid recital. At these occasions it always amazes me to see the absolute focus they show up with: They read their notes, breathe calmly, and keep playing even if they make a mistake. I always wonder how many other areas of their lives this habit of calm focus will spill over into.
And I am reminded how much more enjoyable my own life would be if I could sometimes put away the need for instant results, and instead give my focus to the process, trust that I am learning and enjoy the ride.