Small Steps

Ok....so late this summer I downloaded an app on my phone called the "Meditation Helper." Basically what it does is occupy a little space on the main page of my phone screen with two numbers and a bar. One number is the highest streak of days I've reached my goal mediating (15 minutes or more) and the other number is my current streak of days in a row. The bar shows how far along to my daily goal of 15 minutes I am.  What is amazing is that it really helps me remember to take those 15 or so minutes of time to mediate, whether a formal sit-in-lotus-mediation or a mediating asana practice or a moving mediation. I'm currently on a streak of 46 days (47 if I go meditate tonight). It's absolutely spectacular what it's helped me keep track of!

One thing I made sure I did when I set my goal was set something very obtainable. Fifteen minutes.  Small.  Simple.  Fairly easy to reach even if it's been a busy day.  And seeing it smiling at me from my phone every time I look at the time or check a message or get online is a HUGE reminding factor in my current success!

So, given that the app won't let me install two of it, and I can find another one that's similar so I set up my computer so that every time I open Google Chrome, this Humours of a True Believer blog opens in one of the tabs. My goal is to make it the constant reminder that it only takes a little - - baby steps - - to get to where I'm wanting to go musically.  I'm feeling a little unmotivated overall, and hoping maybe a more consistent record keeping will help.

I tried adding a "poll" to the sidebar - so far I've only been able to answer the question once, so I'm not sure if it will work the way I was hoping (I was hoping to give a new answer every day to sorta "track" my playing time). Will keep looking for another insert that could maybe do this, such as a graphing tool or something similar.

Meanwhile, I spent tonight playing through my most recent "tunes to learn" cd.  I've started diddling the next tune set before it starts when it's playing in my car, which is always a good sign that they're starting to get more embedded in my brain.  A run through the cd (not really focusing on any of the tunes) lets me know that some of the tunes are more solid that others (logically), which ones are in odd keys, and which ones I can start fingering on my steering wheel to practice them.

I did play through "I Wish I Never Saw You" a few times.  Recommended by Amy O'Neill, it's an enjoyable tune that I have a tendency to want to start on B instead of the open E that it's supposed to start on. I tried playing it once before I got the tune key from the cd and was frustrated why my fingers weren't remembering the second part....as soon as I got it into the right key, they were much better.  It also goes into a tune I know from somewhere else that is an easy one to pick up.

So, small steps. My goal, like with my meditation, is to get out my fiddle for 15 minutes a day every day possible (not going to try and take my fiddle to Pittsburgh next week, or my yoga training the weekend after, just doesn't really make sense to do that). Hoping to find a good way to track my time or streak of days to motivate myself to take a small step in that direction. We'll see how it works!