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Living Life between the Notes

The saying goes April showers bring May flowers. This year we hope April’s situation brings May health and well-being. These are trying times

I will not repeat any CDC guidelines that you, by now, have committed to memory, as they overflow your inbox and mailbox. Instead, I thought I would repeat a column from several years ago. I believe this to be as applicable and relevant today as it was then. Here goes…

What is it with those rally songs, whether it is “The Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, or Queen’s “We Will Rock You?” No matter if your song is Rap, Country Western, or Gospel, these melodies lift you up and get your blood pumping. But what makes this music special? Why does it inspire?

Maybe because it seems to be the perfect combination of melody and lyrics, or maybe it’s just the music. The late 19th century French composer Claude Debussy once said, “Music is the space between the notes.” The space between notes allows them to resonate, reverberate, and reach their full measure of expression. Without these spaces, you are left with banging noises and distortion.

Take a moment to think of every deadline, every activity, and every milestone as a note in the daily song we sing. I think the same can be said of our personal lives: too much chaos can stifle our resourcefulness and make our business hectic and acrimonious. Conversely, proper spacing allows for more efficiency and harmony and a smoother running life or business.

When songwriters compose, they do not fill their songs with as many notes as possible—instead, they carefully choose just enough to make the melody enjoyable. We can do the same in our lives and our co-op communities. Instead of taking on as many tasks as our schedules allow, we can exercise some productive restraint. We are the stewards of our communities and of our lives, and things we leave out are as significant as what we include.

When we cut out the background noise, we bring what’s truly important to the forefront. If we owned a beautiful art piece—be it from the gallery or Ms. Garcia’s second grade class, we wouldn’t crowd it with other décor—we’d show it on its own, with enough space around it to show it off. We need to treat what’s important to us with similar respect, which, in effect, means removing all other stuff that’s not so important.

For every new task we put on our agenda, or every new task we jam into our schedules, we sacrifice a little bit of space. In some cases, our space may have disappeared entirely, creating a drone of notes. When we diagnose this, it is time to rebalance the space with the notes and restore the harmony.

So why create all this space? Because, to put a twist on Debussy’s quote, life is the space between our things, and how we put these together is our rally song.

Studies have shown that life lessons bring us more lasting happiness than possessions. It’s the stuff we do, not the stuff we have, that makes life worth living. And doing things requires a certain amount of space.

So, when life picks up to an uncertain or frantic pace—remember to slow it down. We need to create our music with enough space to move freely, consider carefully, and decide wisely. Make time to enjoy the fellowship of others. For when the music stops—was it that awe-inspiring rally song, or was someone just beating on a #3 washtub with a stick? Let’s be remembered not for every note we reach, but rather for everything we did between the notes to reach the next one.

During these trying times, I believe it’s important to stay positive and upbeat. While you are social distancing—remember, you can also practice distant socializing. Stay in touch folks and be safe.