Source

In this current episode of chaos that is sweeping around the world... I find myself oddly at calm. Normally, I'm pretty unflappable most of the time... I guess that comes from having a job that involves subjecting yourself to the possibility and risk of public humiliation (I'm a musician...).

I've seen my entire foreseeable future months of work go down the drain as concerts are cancelled left right and centre... but still, in many ways... this doesn't really bother me too much. We have low expenses, we still bring in an income through teaching.... and to be honest, things could be much worse... and I know that things are MUCH worse for other people. So, in the grand scheme of things... we have lost quite a bit, but we still keep everything that we hold dear. Most things are temporary or replaceable.... the important things aren't!

So, I guess that sort of mindset is the way that I'm coping with the crisis... however, there also little things that I like to do that keep my mind sane... after all, even the strongest will can be eroded over time if there isn't a way to take your mind for a little wander! My wife has her online yoga classes, reading and gardening... my kids love their little episodes of TV when we let them and I think they get pleasure out of annoying us!

My Escapes

Unsplash

I love learning things... there is a certain pleasure that I find in just reading and understanding. I usually drop off before the learning becomes dangerously practical... due to my former studies, I really enjoy the abstract... especially in the fields of Mathematics and Physics.

Normally, I run out of time to sit down and read something properly... these days, I have more time to read and ponder. I love looking at articles at Quanta Magazine, it is some pretty decent and very interesting writing by great science writers interpreting some of the most abstract papers that are on show by the science community at the moment.

For example, this last piece that I read (Does Time Really Flow: New CLues From a Century Old Approach to Mathematics was a great read and one that got me thinking.. it really does address an age old problem of how to treat time (more specifically, the passage of time which has been come to be seen as an illusion or a construct) in the field of Theoretical Physics... and if the solution (or at least an insight) does come from the long-ignored field of Intuitionalist Mathematics, then this could have some pretty mind-blowing implications. I miss this stuff.... but at least I can try to follow as an interested bystander!

I'm not going to lie... when the concerts were falling left, right and centre (with more still falling through the northern Summer...), I really felt like not bothering to practice. After all, there was no threat of imminent public embarrassment to give me a kick in the arse... and I was having fun with the kids, reading and gaming and doing other things...

However, I did start practicing again... when you have reached a certain level of skill with a particular art (music, violin... for me...), there is a certain sense of calm and detachment that you achieve when practicing it. Time stands still (or not... see previous...)... you are focused in the moment, and you are getting incremental increases in skill... you are just getting better!

It is really hard to explain it... but when I'm practicing, I lose sense of time (if it is going well... if not, then I stop and go and do something else...).... I am at ease with one of my wooden friends, and we are just messing around together... discovering, learning... playing!

... and speaking of playing... this is my other hobby! I LOVE gaming... specifically, PC games... those with deep and complex systems, or great stories and narratives! It is so easy to get yourself lost in the deep and incredible worlds... perhaps in a fantasy realm... or in space... or just doing a historical simulation! Or playing Kerbals with the kids and trying to build a space program from disaster to disaster!

Wrapping Up

So, as I've written all of this... I guess what really helps me keep my "Zen" is not an active seeking of inner peace or anything like that. I've always been quite skeptical of that sort of approach... we all have things that we enjoy or like doing... things that make us lose track of time and just exist in a different world from the mundane. It is different for everyone... and it doesn't have to be an "approved" Eastern meditation or anything gimmicky like that (although, for some people, it is... and that is also okay!).... just find what it is that you enjoy, even if other people think it isn't "right"!

_{Upgoats by ryivhnn
Account banner by jimramones}

_{The classical music community (Subscribe at Steempeak and Peakd) at #classical-music and Discord. Follow our community accounts @classical-music and @classical-radio. Community Logo by ivan.atman}