Day 16: Our Photographs as Wise Teachers

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Phew this was hard! I think because I don't know if I've realized until now that indeed, my photographs have been teaching me all along. This one stood out in my memory. It's one I really should have framed. 6 years ago I was part of a weekly pedagogy class for piano teachers. The teacher herself, Mary Kogen (the one with the radiant smile), is a woman who knows how to PLAY. As teachers, we were all burnt out and she brought the fun back into our teaching. This particular moment stood out because we were "practicing" sight reading.  Ha! It was such a funny and free moment full of light,  struggle and laughter, I had to capture it. Here's what I wrote about it 6 years ago: "I learn so much about myself and life through music. In sight reading,  the art is to stay in it, figure out what to let go, keep going, and look at the big picture. Mistakes are only the portals to discovery and creativity. In that moment, who the teacher is stands out far more than what they teach."
Little did I know, a few months later I would become pregnant with my firstborn. I love how this photograph teaches me, 6 years later, and for years to come, how to stay in it. How to figure out what to let go of without stopping and starting over. How to be curious. How to play around and tinker. All while laughing about. 
I think the easy way out of hard things is to beat ourselves up for it so that we can justify ourselves. Because then I'm excused. But what would happen if I participated? Wrestled? Said yes? Sure there's still tension and unanswered questions and mystery. I think that's all part of the glorious invitation to this life: to participate.

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