Rhythms of Life

All may of Thee partake:
         Nothing can be so mean,
Which with his tincture—”for Thy sake”—
         Will not grow bright and clean.

         A servant with this clause
         Makes drudgery divine:
Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws,
         Makes that and th’ action fine.

-George Herbert

Other than some little fix-it projects I’ve been working on the last couple of weeks, I’ve mainly been occupying my time with establishing rhythms and habits. I love music and playing my harp is a great joy for me. I will be honest when I say that, as an amateur, rhythm is not my strong point. I tend to get caught up in expression and tone and, of course, you know, actually playing the right notes. Rhythm sometimes seem like a kind of extra (not so crucial) discipline that requires pulling out a metronome, slowing down when you want to get through a piece or having to keep up your pace even when you are wading through complex parts. I’m sure my musical friends could attest that rhythm is in fact necessary for good music. Yes, it takes discipline and may not be the most pleasurable aspect of music, but it is the structure the rest of a musical piece hangs on.

Though it may seem unnecessarily difficult to establish new routines if you are in “survival mode” because of a transition, forming new habits or rhythms is actually easiest (or most likely to stick) during a big transition. Though transitions like moving, getting married, having a baby, changing jobs, etc. can be stressful and people often desire to minimize other changes during this time, it is actually easier to develop a new rhythm because your brain is already opening up to new patterns. If you take the time while you are moving to a new house to switch to natural, more sustainable cleaning products, you are more likely to go through with it than if you wait until “things settle down”. If you start a fitness routine when you get your new job schedule, you are more likely to stick with it longer than if you wait until your schedule becomes more stable. Here is one article related to this idea. https://thriveglobal.com/stories/a-great-time-to-change-your-habits-it-s-not-january-1/

Working on rhythms of life hasn’t been necessarily glamorous, but it’s been good. Figuring out which days I’ll clean the house, when to water my plants, how I’ll sort laundry, the best place to keep my grocery list, and a system for keeping track of bills have all been slowly developing. Are any of them the beautiful expressions of music or grand things to boast of? No, but with these things in place, I know I’ll have a clean, orderly, happy home as the structure for the rest of my music.