My writings - and those of others.
Past and present
I went back to piano study three years ago. In some contexts I don’t mind being called the longest continuing participant rather than the oldest - but the second is clearly the honest description here as the oldest student. After yesterday’s practice, I was moved to reflect on what I saw in front of me from the piano bench - pictured above. Today I grabbed my phone, took a picture after pulling down the blinds to block the sun - not totally succeeding - sent the photo to my laptop and here it is.
Above, there are pages from a mediaeval psalter. These came as a wedding present in 1960 from family friends who found the pages in an English antique shop and had them framed. Many such books were hand lettered and illustrated in the middle ages by monks - and it’s possible to find the English texts of the Latin inscription. It seems amazing that such books were simply cut up and its pages treated as a commodity. But here they are - treasured artifacts.
Moving down it is obvious that this instrument is not a concert grand. Instead, it is a Roland electronic of reasonable quality. The headphones make it possible to practise at any hour without disturbing neighbors in my apartment complex. On the sides are standards for practice of any pianist at any level - Bach easy preludes and Hanon exercises.
What is perhaps most interesting are the printouts in the centre. This is a work by Joseph-Hector Fiocco, a composer I had never heard of until I looked him up. A Belgian composer who lived from 1703-1741, he was a composer and harpichordist of the late Baroque period who also knew enough Latin and Greek to be a school teacher as well as becoming choirmaster at Antwerp Cathedral. Obviously a versatile and talented guy -as the little gem of a piano suite proves.
What would he think of the way I received this score? I printed it out on an inkjet. In the middle of a lesson, my teacher had asked if I knew the work - and on receiving a negative reply, on the spot she sent the score from her Iphone. The composer’s free scores are available from the International Music Score Library Project.
There are so many awful uses of technology, with people spewing vitriol into the universe and illustrating the worst of human character. It will take incredible effort to curtail the power of transmittal of ugliness and lack of caring. I’m as liable to the quick flippant comment as anyone. But it is good to remember the capability of transmitting beauty and quality with ease. That is where we have to go.
Gadgets
I’ve been reading Jason Lanier’s You are not a Gadget - and it has reminded me of a gadget that I dislike - the Chat function in Zoom. In a conversation with one of my sons, he defended the function as useful between two colleagues when watching a webinar - and on that I have no particular disagreement. What I object to is the interruption of chats to everybody. The sender assumes that the information he/she is going to provide is more important than that of the presenter at the moment. It is intended to he helpful but it smacks of self-importance.
What this does is to put a small bulletin on my gallery page view that annoyingly obscures the face of the speaker. Sometimes it is a link to a website in a font that is unreadable. If I am trying to follow what the speaker is saying, I don’t want to leap to another place and look at it now. When many are attending, “Hello” from wherever may be momentarily inspiring that the world is wide and extensive but it doesn’t survive as something important.
Lanier decries the ability of the trivial to become important and swamp attention from the main event. It is part of social media’s attempt to make everyone more important - without realizing that the herds we are creating are there for a reason - not to have more friends we hardly know or care about, but to send us more advertisements. It also shows how behaviour on one set of platforms is now influencing our behaviour on others. I won’t read your chats - and I’ll hardly ever send one.
Another outstanding site
The Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology is an important site for anyone who sees ecology as a moral and spiritual issue. It has undergone a recent update that makes it even more attractive as a resource for learning. The site tells us this:
“The Mission of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology is to inform and inspire people to preserve, protect, and restore the Earth community. The religions of the world transmit ecological and justice perspectives in their scriptures, rituals, and contemplative practices as well as in their moral and ethical commitments.” It goes on to list a number of projects and connections
You can find brief summaries of all the world’s major religions. There are equally impressive materials on climate emergency. Laudato Si, the encylical of Pope Francis, has had considerable impact and these materials have also been collected for reference. There are numerous resources including a regular newsletter. Among the many projects are those relating to to Journey of the Universe project.
For anyone interested in climate change, the foundational information here is of immense value.
Minimalism
Technology simplifies our lives but it also affects us in ways we don’t realize until we are without it. I recently fell and wrecked a knee; that meant I prevailed upon a son to drive me to a routine eye appointment. I could take a few steps with a cane or hiking poles but going any distance was still pretty panful.
He called ten minutes before arriving to ensure I was at the door. In fact we were early and drove around so as not to arrive too early - showing how we use the automobile without thinking as to how we are affecting the planet by doing so - but that’s another story. I got to the office, went through the inevitable Covid screening and as usual sat for a wait. A woman sitting across from me - properly distanced - was gazing at her phone and I automatically reached for mine. It wasn’t in my purse.
My first reaction was to panic - and then to beat myself up. It was already in the purse when my son called. How could I have stupidly laid it aside? To make things worse I was to text him back when I was ready for a ride home. What was his cell number? I could remember the land line, but had they cancelled it when all four members of that household had Iphones? I couldn’t recall his cell - or that of any other family member.
I had lots of time to think through a way to connect. I was pretty sure I remembered another son’s cell - but now my stupidity would be revealed even more widely. But son number one has a business website. Wait a minute, I thought - he probably has a phone number on that site. When I finally saw the optometrist and sheepishly told her my problem, I asked whether she could check his site. She did and asked the receptionist to call my son letting him know I would be ready for a pick up in five minutes. Problem solved. The receptionist handed me a little slip with his number on it - as well as giving me a card with my next appointment. It’s still in the purse and reminds me to jot it down in my Bullet Journal. I just did. I’ll also try to memorize his cell number.
I’ve been recently reading Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism - actually listening to it as an audiobook on the Libby app on my tablet. Is this Minimialist? I’m not addicted to social media but my aging brain has conveniently downloaded some important information to a small portable computer. I didn’t need my own - but it was interesting how reliant I was on those of others.
As it happened, my own phone had dropped out of the small purse and my son noticed it on his car seat. He did have confidence that I would figure something out - so that’s at least something. And instead of going home we went to his house where a bunch of Celtic musicians were playing in the back yard - and I got to join in by playing on a 77 key battery powered Roland keyboard. I still agree with Newport that we are overly reliant on our technologies. The important thing is good choice of where and when.
Values and strategies
Continuing on the report of Climate Action.
These are the values that the Alberta study found need to focus upon in engaging young people. While they were specific, they also have broader application.
Security - learning needs to suggest that climate changes and the actions we are asked to take bear a relationship to a predictable future.
Achievement and self direction - a desire to learn the skills to build the world they want to create.
Place attachment - focus on the locality where students live and love.
Continuity - young people want to see new energy initiatives create the prosperity that former ones did.
Responsibility and agency - Young people realize that the future is theirs - and they are prepared to take responsibility for it.
The study noted that only a small number - 10% - dismissed the reality of climate change. Building on the previous studies of Alberta adults, these are the narratives that are seen as relevant to teens
Love of locale (in this case, Alberta, but the same could apply to any province or region.
Early adulthood - high school students are the next generation and are eager to take responsibility for their world.
Climate - it will be challenging to talk about when parents’ employment or family history has depended upon fossil fuel industries. This must be a starting point. We do have to talk about it and recognize climate science based facts. It also helps to face the fact that we have overcome hard issues in the past by facing them realistically and honestly
Energy - Clean energy solutions are under development. There have been energy transitions in the past and we have survived them.+