So much going on in our world, very little of it encouraging.

To find the elements of optimism, at least for me, I need to look at the smaller circles, the closer orbits. Two thriving grandsons, healthy, smart, loving, each mischievous in their own ways. And they’re fortunate to have two loving parents who’re effective at allowing their imaginations thrive, but also at providing clear limits. I found great energy and inspiration in my visit to their home last weekend, and in that house, there is nothing but optimism.

As I look at my own home, I am grateful that we’re all dealing with our various health situations effectively, and are in good shape. Thankfully, we’re all living with things that are treatable, and that puts us in a category of very fortunate people.

And Pattie and I are now getting closer to pulling the trigger on some plans for next summer and after. Travel, diving, hiking…we want to do as much as we can while we are healthy. And the bucket list of places to see and things to do is a long one, for sure.

Then there’s work/school. A fabulous group of newer colleagues provide a wonderful sense of optimism. But that optimism requires patience, for sure. The many good ideas that might create a brighter path for educating future musicians will take time. I think my job at this point is to facilitate the generation, formation, and focusing of some of those ideas; alas, the implementation will be the job of the next generation of faculty.

The conversations I’m having with a small group of wonderful younger faculty is getting some great broad concepts on the table at this point. And some of the discussion has led me to an idea…

More on that in another post.