Jazz

Today’s Word: ‘Jazz’ as in… in life, as in jazz, you may not know exactly what’s coming next, but you’ll need to be ready.

There is still so much we really don’t know about the coronavirus. We’re learning, yes, but there’s a lot we still don’t know. We don’t know when it will slow down. We don’t know when it will peak. We don’t know how to stop it – yet. We don’t know how many lives it will impact. Yet, in the midst of all of this there is a kind of new agility that we’re experiencing. We’re learning to do some old things in new ways, and we’re learning to do some new things that we never dreamt we’d be doing.

It’s a little like playing jazz.

In a typical jazz piece – which, I have to admit, is a bit of an oxymoron because jazz is, by definition, not typical. Musicians gather and agree on a few things.

First, a key – the major or minor scale around which the piece of music revolves. It’s good when everyone plays in the same key. Otherwise it doesn’t sound very appealing.

Second, a tempo – how fast or slow the piece of music is played. If everyone plays at different speeds it’s not going to sound very good. Not only that, but it doesn’t make sense if I get to the end of the piece and you’re still somewhere in the middle.

Third, some architecture – the basic structure of the piece: a beginning, a middle and an end. That’s putting it really simply. Jazz can get very complicated. Once the music starts, everyone supports one another. One leads, others follow and support. But then the leadership suddenly shifts, and another player leads. You may not know when it’s your turn to lead, but here’s the deal: we all have a part to play and when it’s our turn to lead, we just have to take the lead and play our best.

In life, as in jazz, you may not know exactly what’s coming next, but you’ll need to be ready.

#100days50words