recitals were commonplace when my children studied violin. with a digital recorder performances were captured. eventually, a cd was burned with many pieces.
while driving, i frequently listened to the cd. my daughter’s performance on a difficult piece captivated me. she played extremely well for three quarters of it. then, it happened. she struck one bad note. she recovered from the bad note and finished the piece in strong fashion. that one darned note! that one blemish!
i became obsessed. i kept listening to that song again and again. each time i got to the three quarters’ mark and that note was to be played, i hope grew that this would be the time when, on the recording, the note would come out perfect. my irrational thought gave me hope that somehow the recording’s permanence would change. my obsessive will defeated both logic and common sense.
we choose to have moments for which we let our irrationality consume us. sometimes, we simply can’t let go. it occurs during all aspects of life, schooling, relationships and in business dealings.
perhaps, this false hope has some value in our lives. it certainly works as an excuse to avoid confronting reality. the cycle of false hope can be broken and certainty could be obtained. the problem with it is that it takes thought, willingness to change, and some effort. in my circumstances, i could have turned my hope into a reality. i could have arranged for my daughter to re-record the piece. this would have taken effort. this effort may have helped cure the past. it certainly would have benefited the present and future.
in sum, we all have our broken records that we continue to play out. if you have such a situation, with thought, willingness, and effort, perhaps you can set your record straight.
be well!!
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