Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales
As Christmas approaches, it is as easy as ever to be torn between the message of goodwill to all peoples, and the stark reality of conflict.
We hear about the angel’s proclamation of Peace on Earth, and wonder why its realisation seems as far away as ever. We listen as political and religious leaders extol their views and preach their values, but we wonder how far their efforts have collectively brought us.
Love, Goodwill, Mercy
In The Book of Life, the twentieth-century Indian philosopher and writer Jiddu Krishnamurti unpicks this ever-present human conundrum:
“The world is always close to catastrophe. But it seems to be closer now. Seeing this approaching catastrophe, most of us take shelter in idea. We think that this catastrophe, this crisis, can be solved by an ideology.”
Krishnamurti goes on to explain,
“Ideology is always an impediment to direct relationship, which prevents action. We want peace only as an idea, but not as an actuality.”
Lest this post begin to seem out of sorts with the jollity of the season, let’s jump straight to a solution Krishnamurti proposes:
“Organisations have never brought order and peace.
Only love, only goodwill,
Only mercy can bring order and peace,
Ultimately, and therefore now.”
Words, ideas, policies, beliefs and theories simply aren’t enough. They never have been, and they never will be. If the Christmas story teaches us that reconciliation is possible, “between god and all mankind”, between individuals, communities and peoples everywhere, the solution is rather to be found:
• in the love we show, because it is only through patience, kindness, and putting the needs of others first that we can make any lasting difference;
• in the goodwill we offer others, because unless and until we can think the best of others, our actions will simply be motivated by ego;
• and in the mercy that we exhibit, because until we can let go of past and present wrongs, we will never be ready to abandon senseless revenge and seek true peace.
Guiding principles
The hope that we can fundamentally do better, pursuing Peace on Earth as an actuality and not merely as an idea, remains central to the message of Christmas and is right at the heart of the teachings of Jesus, the infant who was hailed as the Prince of Peace.
And if competition and resource guarding lie at the root of all conflict, then there are lessons here for all of us in the piano-playing community too, and solutions we can model. Putting collaboration above competition, goodwill before grades, and playfulness before personal gain, we can become better versions of ourselves, and promote radically positive attitudes.
God does not, I suspect, care what grade anyone has on the piano. Whatever our goals, interests, and passions, worthwhile though they often are, the quest for peace is surely a higher calling, and one which we as musicians can and should aspire to in our daily activities and interpersonal lives.
Peace on Earth begins right here where we are, and right now.
So let’s act on this fervent hope more determinedly than ever this Christmas, and through the coming year. Because it’s our actions, and not simply our ideas, which make the real difference in the pursuit of peace.
Let’s try to adopt love, goodwill and mercy as the guiding principles of our conduct. And yes, in all of our music-making exploits too!
And on that note I would like to wish Pianodao readers everywhere a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year.
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