“Practice makes permanent”
We’ve all heard the saying “Practice makes perfect”. Some years ago, the director of the chorus that I sing with rephrased that saying in a way that stopped me in my tracks. She said “Practice makes permanent”. Her point was that practice is leading to perfection only to the extent that what we practice is closer to our ideal than our current state. The other side of this is that what we practice incorrectly gets etched deeper and deeper into our being.
Her rule was that it is necessary to practice correctly three times for each incorrect practice. When I’ve found myself doing this with music, that’s about right. But there have also been musical errors that get so thoroughly ingrained into my voice that I can’t ever get rid of them.
It seems to me that this lesson applies much more broadly. When, once again, I let my concern for “what will the neighbors think” stop me in my tracks, I am making it more likely that the same pattern will repeat again and again.
When I put up with disrespect, I set myself up to be disrespected more.
Maybe this is one of the ways that karma acts in the world.
But if I have to stand up for myself three times for every time I’ve let myself be put upon, I better have a couple of reincarnations in store, ’cause I don’t think that I’ll have time to get through them all in this lifetime.
Tags: karma, Music, practice, Spirit
Bob
April 17th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Bravo! I just wrote on my blog about how foolish I have been in seeking more when what I need is less. What you say complements that wonderfully. So maybe for every social engagement, for the sake of my own balance, I need three solitary engagements. But then…who can ever live that long? Great topic, Bob. I thank your choral director (and you) for that insight.
April 18th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Kendall, Thanks for the kind words. I’m still feeling my way into blogging, learning what I want to say, at what length. It does seem that these posts about what makes life worth living will be a significant part of what goes on in this blog.