Choose the YES

Special moments come at the least expected times.

This video, the one I circulate periodically whenever Facebook reminds me of it, was literally just a gig. I didn’t know Sullivan when he reached out to me to play because he needed the video for some application or other.  I didn’t even ask what it was for.  I only had a day or two to prepare the music and I was annoyed that it was so hard and annoyed at myself for accepting the gig and annoyed as I drove up to the church he had booked which proved to be basically unheated.

I love what I do, but some gigs ARE an annoyance.  Holiday pops runouts leap to mind here. Endless drives through the snow for ungratifyingly formulaic performances of insipid music.  My annoyance level going in to this was about the same.

But it turned out to be marvelous fun!  Once I got going, the challenge turned out to be the BEST kind of challenge, the thing that is difficult but totally attainable if you bring your A game and your focus.  That’s the kind of challenge I love the most.

Sullivan and the pianist and the cameraman he’d brought were totally delightful.  I really liked the piece. And every time I see that video now I smile and reshare it, because it came out so well and was such a good experience.

If I had let my annoyance lead the way? If I had turned the gig down, if I had come in with a bad attitude, if I had practiced only just enough to fake through it instead of really playing it? This would not have been so much fun.  I would have missed out.

The best thing about my life is the opportunities I get to make interesting things, to DO interesting projects.  You can’t always tell in advance which experience is going to be amazing.  I know we have to make choices in life - I’ve already made a choice about the next set of holiday pops runouts. (Hold me to that when life resumes!)

But when you can - choose the YES.  Because you never know when it’s going to be unexpectedly special.