This weekend we enter the Jewish month of Elul. This is the final month of the "soul year", before Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe.
The month is punctuated not by feast or fast days, but by an absence of them. The point of Elul is to take the time to focus on what we need to do to be better people. We pray, we contemplate, we apologize to those we know we've wronged, we consider the baggage we carry and want to -- need to -- let go of.
When you make your living through music, it's hard. It's hard to get your ego out of the way (because you need at least some ego to do this work); it's hard to play nice with others (especially if you're a solo act); it's hard to listen more and talk less; and overall, how to be a more considerate, compassionate person who isn't so wrapped up in her navel.
But those are the things i know I need to address. I chip away at them, little by little, and try not to beat myself up along the way -- a delicate balancing act.
So as I prepared to dive deep into this reflecting pool called Elul, may I have the strength and discipline to stick to the path, the process, as I dare to confront the hard stuff inside and come out somehow still broken, but more ready to go into a new year.
The month is punctuated not by feast or fast days, but by an absence of them. The point of Elul is to take the time to focus on what we need to do to be better people. We pray, we contemplate, we apologize to those we know we've wronged, we consider the baggage we carry and want to -- need to -- let go of.
When you make your living through music, it's hard. It's hard to get your ego out of the way (because you need at least some ego to do this work); it's hard to play nice with others (especially if you're a solo act); it's hard to listen more and talk less; and overall, how to be a more considerate, compassionate person who isn't so wrapped up in her navel.
But those are the things i know I need to address. I chip away at them, little by little, and try not to beat myself up along the way -- a delicate balancing act.
So as I prepared to dive deep into this reflecting pool called Elul, may I have the strength and discipline to stick to the path, the process, as I dare to confront the hard stuff inside and come out somehow still broken, but more ready to go into a new year.
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