I’m so glad you bought another clarinet Emily, from the moment you said you’d sold your first treasured Boosey and Hawkes I was hoping that by the end of listening you’d tell us that you had! And you did…
I believe that if something gives us the joy of a creative sparkle we should practice it as often as we can !!
You know mine already - I never go anywhere without my camera !
I hope we get to hear you play! Have a lovely Sunday 🌸🍃x
I always wanted to play the piano but never did. I had an alto sax for a while too. Absolutely agree that you can’t help feel good listening or playing 😊
So beautiful, Emily! Congratulations on your return to the clarinet - and thank you for sharing this important message of creativity, for all the right reasons!
So great that you bought yourself a new clarinet! When I was a teen, I wanted to learn to play guitar because I just thought that was possibly the coolest thing. I got one, got lessons, enjoyed it a lot until a few years ago life just got busier (I grew up, mainly ;) ) and now my beautiful Fender Western Guitar is sitting in a corner. I've often thought about selling it, because I'm not sure if I will ever play again. I just haven't yet, because of nostalgia. Maybe, when no one is watching, I will pick it up again this week and think of you and your clarinet. :) Thank you for this gentle push towards play and joy (usually I'm also more end-result and goal oriented).
I am so here for this, Emily!! Thank you for the reminder.
I am reading Your Brain on Art (Magsamen & Ross) at the moment and it is blowing my mind in the best way. It's helping to remove some of the guilt and stories I had about the frivolity and unseriousness of my creative outlets. Now I feel like they are necessary! Not just for me but for people around me and wider society. When we create and play for JOY it feels great but it also keeps us well, helps us to stay curious, helps us to make connections, feel part of something bigger. I mean, it's just a massive WIN.
Also I loved reading about your Grandad. Mine also loved photography, had his own dark room and put on slide shows for us. These memories are so precious to me. I felt quite magical.
Cultivating something for your own joy is so overlooked, or at least it feels that way! There have been so many instances were I am told "you should monetize that" in one way or another, but I dont want to. I do not want my creativity turn into work, then it loses all its joy for me.
Someone lent me a trumpet after I left rehab, 11 years ago. It wasn't in good condition I wasn't a good player (i hadn't played it since I was a teenager), and after a few months I passed the trumpet onto someone else. I've taken up sketching instead. I'm better at playing the trumpet but at least with sketching I can practice and get better and not disturb anyone else. Enjoy
I love this, cultivating joy just for joy is the best use of our time and creative energy! I’m a silversmith as well as a therapist and love to get lost in making things that are wildly impractical!
This is how I am with piano. I only know a handful of songs, but I play them over and over again in my basement on my synthesizer keyboard, and I do it because I enjoy it. The only one listening is my border collie, who couldn't care less.
This is wonderful, Emily! You’ve given yourself the gift of music and there are few things better than that. Enjoy every moment of rediscovering the joy 🧡🎵
I'm SO happy that the rise-and-grind/everything-is-a-competition mentality is finally making space for this approach to life. Just... enjoyment. See what flows from there.
How lucky you are to be surrounded by such a creative family. They must have understood that spark and fire that gets set alight when we connect with our creative outlet.
I am so happy for you that you have bought a clarinet again.
It's such a cliche, but life IS short and we have to do what lights us up. Jo xx
I was talking about this idea with my partner, how do we encourage our kids to pick up an instrument or art but in a way that encourages playfulness rather than trying to be the best? Is that just a natural piece of growing up, focusing on skill heavily at some point?
I’m so glad you bought another clarinet Emily, from the moment you said you’d sold your first treasured Boosey and Hawkes I was hoping that by the end of listening you’d tell us that you had! And you did…
I believe that if something gives us the joy of a creative sparkle we should practice it as often as we can !!
You know mine already - I never go anywhere without my camera !
I hope we get to hear you play! Have a lovely Sunday 🌸🍃x
I always wanted to play the piano but never did. I had an alto sax for a while too. Absolutely agree that you can’t help feel good listening or playing 😊
"For joy alone.
Just because, creativity."
So beautiful, Emily! Congratulations on your return to the clarinet - and thank you for sharing this important message of creativity, for all the right reasons!
So great that you bought yourself a new clarinet! When I was a teen, I wanted to learn to play guitar because I just thought that was possibly the coolest thing. I got one, got lessons, enjoyed it a lot until a few years ago life just got busier (I grew up, mainly ;) ) and now my beautiful Fender Western Guitar is sitting in a corner. I've often thought about selling it, because I'm not sure if I will ever play again. I just haven't yet, because of nostalgia. Maybe, when no one is watching, I will pick it up again this week and think of you and your clarinet. :) Thank you for this gentle push towards play and joy (usually I'm also more end-result and goal oriented).
I am so here for this, Emily!! Thank you for the reminder.
I am reading Your Brain on Art (Magsamen & Ross) at the moment and it is blowing my mind in the best way. It's helping to remove some of the guilt and stories I had about the frivolity and unseriousness of my creative outlets. Now I feel like they are necessary! Not just for me but for people around me and wider society. When we create and play for JOY it feels great but it also keeps us well, helps us to stay curious, helps us to make connections, feel part of something bigger. I mean, it's just a massive WIN.
Also I loved reading about your Grandad. Mine also loved photography, had his own dark room and put on slide shows for us. These memories are so precious to me. I felt quite magical.
Cultivating something for your own joy is so overlooked, or at least it feels that way! There have been so many instances were I am told "you should monetize that" in one way or another, but I dont want to. I do not want my creativity turn into work, then it loses all its joy for me.
Such a good reminder :)
and I am happy you bought yourself that clarinet!
Someone lent me a trumpet after I left rehab, 11 years ago. It wasn't in good condition I wasn't a good player (i hadn't played it since I was a teenager), and after a few months I passed the trumpet onto someone else. I've taken up sketching instead. I'm better at playing the trumpet but at least with sketching I can practice and get better and not disturb anyone else. Enjoy
I love this, cultivating joy just for joy is the best use of our time and creative energy! I’m a silversmith as well as a therapist and love to get lost in making things that are wildly impractical!
This resonated with me. Just for the joy of it. Taking pictures. Crochet. I'm so glad you bought another clarinet. Just for the joy of playing.
This is how I am with piano. I only know a handful of songs, but I play them over and over again in my basement on my synthesizer keyboard, and I do it because I enjoy it. The only one listening is my border collie, who couldn't care less.
This is wonderful, Emily! You’ve given yourself the gift of music and there are few things better than that. Enjoy every moment of rediscovering the joy 🧡🎵
I'm SO happy that the rise-and-grind/everything-is-a-competition mentality is finally making space for this approach to life. Just... enjoyment. See what flows from there.
It’s wonderful to be reminded of this from time to time. Thanx. 😁
This is a beautiful composition Emily.
How lucky you are to be surrounded by such a creative family. They must have understood that spark and fire that gets set alight when we connect with our creative outlet.
I am so happy for you that you have bought a clarinet again.
It's such a cliche, but life IS short and we have to do what lights us up. Jo xx
I was talking about this idea with my partner, how do we encourage our kids to pick up an instrument or art but in a way that encourages playfulness rather than trying to be the best? Is that just a natural piece of growing up, focusing on skill heavily at some point?
I LOVE this! I’m so glad you bought your clarinet - fantastic! Enjoy 👍💕✨